Mass Effect - Hellion
by ArielFetters
Summary: My rendition of the Mass Effect Storyline. Starts off fairly basic but will quickly go AU. Contains, sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, and traces of character development. Has a Femshep-Miranda romance without Futa, though the couch/bed in Shep's quarters does qualify as a futon.
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect - Hellion

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

Welcome to my Mass Effect fanfic! It's going to start semi-normally, then take a hard left at the corner of fucked up ville and bite me town. I'm going to be as realistic about things as I can and come up with my own explanations of a few things in the game, like Shepard not having a first name and somehow doing things no human, even one with low level cybernetics and minor genetics upgrades would have a hope in hell of accomplishing. I'm going to be bringing in things from other parts of the game completely out of order, and I'm going to kick a few plot points I don't agree with, as Jaavik would say, out the airlock. In-story explanations will be clear, but not necessarily given at the time things happen.

I not only _want_ , but _need_ feedback on how I'm doing the story. If I'm giving away too much information, _please_ tell me. If I'm not giving enough, again, _please_ tell me. I can't fix things or improve my skills in a vacuum, and I very much want to become a better writer.

Lastly, I'm going to do everything I can to put out _at least_ one chapter per month, with around 3000 or so words per chapter. Some people put out 500 or a thousand words and that's fine because that's how they write and it's not my job or place to suggest they do otherwise. I however am a wordy little pain in the ass and a not-so-small reason I've been doing fanfic is to learn how to cut the excess out of my writing.

That all having been said let's boot the game up, ignore the crappy character generator, and get this show on the road.

-^V^- -^V^-

CH - 01

Earth, March 12th, NavSpecWar headquarters, CSO selection commitee.

"I'm sorry, I thought we were here to select the first human Spectre, not engage in stand up comedy routines."

Donnel Udina was not normally given to blunt shows of vexation, but what stood before him was nothing less than the mother of all political shitstorms. Nearly 7 months of debate, sifting through literally millions of prospective candidates, and multiple tiers to screen out all but the best of the best, had reduced the playing field to half a dozen people. The least offensive was an outright liability and the worst he wasn't sure was legal to even suggest.

"Settle down Udina, you'll get an ulcer before you hit 60." Admiral Tradius Ahern rumbled. Easily the biggest man in the room he was often described as a walking battleship. He wasn't pretty and he wasn't subtle, but piss him off and he would absolutely _ruin_ your day.

"Your concern for my well being is noted if massively belated."

The only other non-military member of the comittee, their identity unknowable due to the close-fitting helmet fronted by an opaque glass face shield, said "Enough. These are the nominees. We either select one or inform the council we were unable to locate a suitably capable candidate."

A headache started hammering at his head, Udina took a moment to massage his temples before continuing.

"Very well. Each person will give the sparse pro's of their candidate and the rest of us will expound on their cons, of which I see many. We'll do so clockwise beginning with the head of the Systems Alliance Internal Security Directorate."

The man nodded and said "Jameson Latch. 11 years as an SAISD asset. He has a 92% mission completion ratio, is adept at short instance undercover work, investigation, assassination, sabotage, is extremely self-sufficient, and follows orders."

"He's also a known womanizer, a borderline alchoholic with a martini fetish, and when his missions go bad they make the front pages of half the news stations in the galaxy." Colonel David Anderson added.

"I'll grant he's creative and remarkably adaptable, but he was washed out of the N7 program for a host of reasons, those being just the tip of the iceberg." Admiral Stephen Hackett noted. "To put it plainly he's a sociopath. No actual empathy for others. No internal moral code. Manipulative in the extreme, and is primarily concerned with how he'll benefit from a given situation."

"He is easy to control."

Ahern snorted. "Considering you people's fondness of cortex bombs I'm not surprised. You'd have to be a few fries short of a meal deal to think it wouldn't be removed the moment he signed up though. Spectre's are under no one's control except the council's."

"Unacceptable."

Udina arched an eyebrow. "You expect the council to simply ignore centuries of tradition, not to mention several dozen galactic-level laws?"

"I'm sure they could be convinced to see things our way."

His headache got worse and he grimaced. "I realize the SAISD has no interest in politics but if you even _think_ about attempting to blackmail, extort, or bribe the council not only will you make it impossible to get a human into the Spectres but you'll also risk embargoes and fines of ruinous proportions. I therefore suggest we drop Mr. Wick from the running if for no other reason than to prevent a diplomatic and legal apocalypse."

"That seems best." Hackett stated.

Udina looked to the next in line and sighed. The most politically safe if utterly bland and the least capable of those being suggested. Anderson tapped his omni and the image of a man with forgettable features suddenly dominated the wall display. "Lt. Berger Ramierez. 7 years in the Army, another 5 in the Rangers HRT's. Served with distinction in the Makarov conflict and almost single-handedly defended a key location using UCAV's and scavenged weapons. No legal issues, always follows orders to the letter."

"Shyeet. He keeps running around war zones knifing people and thinks the sights on a gun are a goddamn decoration. Loves explosives waaay too much, and he's not a hell of a lot more creative than my toaster."

"Hence why he hasn't been nominated for the N7's." Hackett added. "He's a capable soldier, that I'll grant, but to be frank he's completely uninspiring. He also lacks any form of investigative background and has never commanded a unit larger than a platoon."

Udina, loathe as he was to agree with Ahern on anything simply stated "Even I think he's... ill suited to the position."

"The SAISD has no issues with him and his nomination wouldn't require measures being taken to ensure the continued loyalty of our operative."

"Udina might be a chair-warming pinky in the air douché but he's right. Screw with the council and you can write the SA out of galactic politics. We'd be lucky to wind up the Asari equivalent of the Volus under the Turians."

"Humanity has not been given the same opportunities as other races. Continuing relations in the face of such blatant disregard seems... unwise. Especially given the rampant discrimination against citizens in good standing and the surging criminalization of various unstable elements."

Udina sighed and rubbed his temples again, then said "Joining the Specters IS one of those opportunities, and puts us ahead of multiple other species. The Batarians, before they were expelled from the Citadel Accords. The Krogan, who were once the literal champions of the citadel races. Celebrated and respected, and still unable to get as far as we have in ten times the time. The volus and Hanar also come to mind, as do the Quarians and Drell. None, in hundreds of years have gotten as far as we have."

He looked up at the man and scowled. "You expect humanity to just show up after a war with one of the council's most unforgiving races and attain instant parity? A pipe dream. Unadulterated hubris. Sheer stupidity at it's best."

To forestall any further idiocy by the SAISD he put the candidate to a vote. "Those in favor of Mr. Ramierez?"

No hands went up, including Anderson's. He frowned, then said "Motion failed, Ramierez's nomination is shelved."

That put the walking warship and his candidate, such as they were, next in line of discussion. "Admiral Ahern, I'd call your suggestion laughable but I'm not sure you'd understand the concept."

"Shepard's reliable, has a 98.7% mission completion ratio, an extensive background in black ops, is protective of the defenselss and is the most powerful biotic, bar none, in the SAM. She's also a master of every weapon known to man woman or Asari and can fly, drive, or pilot damn near anything."

"Badly." Anderson commented with a chuckle.

"She is a mite enthusiastic at the controls." the burly admiral conceded with a grin.

"She's also extensively educated, has no bias against nonhuman species, and is experienced in investigative techniques." admiral Hackett added.

"Her loyalty to the SA is nebulous and she's on a first-name basis with half the crimelords, weapons dealers, and rogue scientific facilities in the galaxy." the room's resident spook countered. "Of any of the suggested candidates, she's the least acceptable."

"I've worked with her several times." Col. Anderson interjected. "I know it might not mean much to you Mr. Udina, but I'd trust her at my back any day of the week. Sure she does things her own damn way but like Admiral Ahern said, she doesn't fail. Ever. Tell her to rescue hostages, she will. Tell her to take an enemy position, she will. Tell her to eliminate terrorists and not only wipe out the entire cell but she'll give you actionable intel on their operations and contacts. Not to mention if you tell her to keep an operation completely off the books it won't even hit the rumor boards."

"You're ignoring the fact we're here to discuss _humanity's_ first Spectre. Not to put too fine a point on it, but she's _not_ human."

Ahern shrugged and noted "She's 13% human. Besides, there're no laws about a species needing to submit only members of their own races to the Spectre's. Technically, a Salarian could nominate a Krogan. Not that they would, but you get my point. Lastly, to be blunt, she's a slave. I don't know about you, but I didn't put on this uniform to have my people operating under threat of their families being slaughtered if they don't obey orders."

That actually caught him by surprise. "I was under the impression she'd enlisted as part of a municipal deferred prosecution and that she had no family."

"Bullshit by the SAISD to cover up truckloads of class-A felonies and galactic civil rights violations."

"Such as?" he inquired, suddenly _very_ interested.

"They wanted super assassins so they made 132 girls from the DNA out, trained them from birth to be the most effective killers in history, and experimented on them so much by the time they managed to escape only 11 of them were left alive to try. Of those only 6 made it out alive. Shepard was 11 years old when she led them out of the labs and into the back alleys of Chicago in the dead of winter without so much as clothes to their names. 4 years later the SAISD grabbed 'em all again and told Shepard either she toed the line or her sisters, 2 of whom are married and have children, would be tossed back in SAIS labs to be 'deconstructed and salvaged' as they put it."

Despite the man's acidic tone he found his opinion of actually accepting Shepard's nomination rapidly improving. The SAISD had 'dissappeared' one of his nephews for a blog post protesting gross abuses of power by SA security agencies. An opinion supposedly protected by free speech laws, but one day the aptly-named men in black showed up and carted the young man off, never to be seen again. His sister was still an emotional wreck 2 years later and the entire Udina family had absolutely despised the SAISD ever since.

If endorsing Shepard could or even _might_ ruin SAISD's day, well, it'd be worth the political shitstorm sure to ensue just to shove the entire situation down their throats. Best of all there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.

Ignoring the fact he was now smiling like a shark about to sink it's teeth onto something, he asked "Does Shepard have the support of anyone else?"

Ahern, Hackett and Anderson nodded. "That makes it a four to one majority then. I'll contact the council immediately. Anderson, since you've worked with her previously you'll handle broaching the topic."

"Consider it done."

"Excellent. Admirals Hackett and Ahern, thank you for your efforts."

Both men thanked him for involving them and then he shifted his focus the the masked man on his right. His smile warped into a sneer and he stated "You killed an innocent young man with a promising future, my nephew, for having an opinion you didn't like. An opinion guaranteed by the constituion of the Systems Alliance, thus making your actions not only ethically repugnant, this coming from a lifetime politician, but extremely illegal. You destroyed my sister, broke our family, and cost us all a man who could've made a positive difference in the SA."

"His public airing of clasified matters threatened continuing SAIS operations."

"Shyeet. Those 'operations' were death penalty bullshit you classified _after the fact_ as justification."

He nodded, again surprised at Ahern's support, and said "Just so. Lastly, while I'm not normally one to indulge in vulgarity you people fucked with me. _No one_ fucks with me."

"Your attitude is noted."

"Note this as well. If I vanish or die suddenly? Every diplomat on Earth would focus their extremely displeased attention on your organization. The crown branch would have more than a few questions about why one of the SA's foremost diplomats had been killed, and half the diplomats on the Citadel would demand a Spectre-fronted investigation that would likely result in your band of murdering sociopaths being arrested en-masse or outright executed. I'm half hoping you do just so I can watch the ensuing scouring of a longtime stain on the reputation and actions of humanity with the utmost glee from the afterlife."

The man watched silently for a moment, then stood and left without a word. Ahern grinned at him and said "I never thought I'd say this to a politician Udina, but HooAH."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Thank you. Now we just need to make sure it wasn't a wasted effort."

-^V^- -^V^-

Colonel Anderson sighed as he sat in his office and pondered just how to 'broach' the idea of becoming a Spectre to a woman who had a decidedly non-complimentary attitude regaring anything related to the council. Not that she had a high opinion of much of anyone, but she considered the leaders of the galactic government to be self serving amoral manipulators concerned only with their own power and that of the species they represented, not the people they'd sworn to ptotect.

While her claims were always backed by facts and evidence, he had yet to get it through her head that some things you just had to roll with because screwing with them caused more problems than they solved.

"Grenade for your thoughts?"

He snorted and looked up as Admiral Ahern grinned at him from the doorway. "More like grenade _in_ my thoughts." After a moment he sighed and shook his head. "While I agree Shepard would make a spectacular Spectre, she's about as supportive of their policies and actions as she is of most syndicates. Less so because at least the Oyapo's stay bought. Hell, she actually likes Aria T'Loak and that woman's the biggest, meanest, and most ruthless Oyapo in the business."

"Yeah, I'd picked up on that. Still, say what you want about that brainfucking bitch she has rules, sticks to 'em, and if you make a deal with her she doesn't screw you on it the moment she gets the chance."

"I'll take your word for it, I've never dealt with her in person before."

"It's an interesting experience, I'll give it that. Now, since you always were the squad runt I'll give you a few hints just so us professionals don't look bad." The man stated with a smirk.

"Well crap. I'm the least badass member of the most deadly tier-one unit of the first contact war. Pardon me while I weep uncontrollably and wail Hanar poetry in grungy artsy bars out of sheer despair." He retorted dryly.

"HAH! Hanar poetry. I should tell Kojima that one, he'll laugh that skinny ass of his right the hell off."

"Either that or try it himself. He always was into that whole 'spiritual warior' thing."

"Worked for him too. That man could've snuck into the pope's palace, knifed the hypocritical jackass, turned his daughter into a momma, and dissappeared without anyone realizing he'd been there."

He chuckled at the image. "Don't let him hear you say that. He'd probably take it as a challenge."

The burly admiral snorted and closed the door "No shit. Cigar?"

He got one out of his desk, offered it and a guillotine, and after the expensive hand-rolled tobacco had been properly trimmed a few cedar matches to light it. Once smoke gently puffed into his office from a contented face, Ahern smiled and said "I need to rob your humidor."

"Good luck with that. So, you said you had some sage words of wisdom for this lowly grunt?"

"Two things. One, an operation just popped up and I need people I can trust running it. That means you and little miss headbutt queen are on deck. Her reactivation's already been approved so all you need to do is find her and tell her to haul ass for SpecS 22."

He blinked, then frowned and asked "The Normandy?"

"Yeah. Sure she's just barely been drydock-certed, but I've got the proverbial bad feeling and I figure we can use the edge that finicky little bitch can give us. Already got orders being cut for crew, supplies, and stores. The Turians had a Spectre in the area beating the snot out of a class of N7 recruits and calling it training so he'll be the official parakeet liason."

He grimaced at that. Ahern's 'bad feelings' bordered on psychic in their accuracy. If he said something didn't feel right you'd best start looking for cover somewhere robust and pondering a soon-to-be-executed exit plan. Without the man's instincts their old unit wouldn't have survived their _first_ operation against the Turians, much less several dozen. "Understood. What about Shepard?"

"She's easy. As long as she's in the SA she'll be a slave and her sisters'll have guns to their heads."

He blinked, then saw where his mentor was going with that train of thought and grinned. "I knew I gave you free smokes and booze for a reason."

"Hah! Speaking of, got any Asari Glimmerwine in this dump?"

-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-

Notes

SAISD - Systems Alliance Internal Security Directorate. Take the CIA, FBI, NSA, the Salem witch trials, and a rabid pitbull, mash them together, and dress it in an all-black Cobra Commander (G1, not the later crap) uniform, you've got the general idea. No one's sure where they get their funding or why Crown Branch doesn't mandate their elimination, only that they don't and asking why _isn't_ a survivable idea.

Crown Branch - The SA is a constituational monarchy so anything directly involving the king/queen or their interests is 'Crown Branch'. The parliment under them is political/economic however, with each country sending 2 representatives and one corporate liasion to make sure the countries they're representing don't get financially screwed. At least in theory anyways. In practice it's more like a corporate overseer with a couple political stringers firmly in their pocket saying yes to anything and everything the corporate type says.

HooAH - Military non-cussword version of 'Fuck yeah!'

Tier One units - There's grunts, line animals, special forces, veteran special forces, and on top of all those are the Tier One units. Take Matrix the commando and Rambo from the 80's, mix in a healthy dose of Sho Kosugi the Ninja, toss in a healthy dose of Sun Tzu, season with T-800 levels of ruthless efficiency, then top it all off with a genius IQ and a zero bullshit tolerance. These are the operators so capable and dangerous people don't give them orders, they say "I have a problem I need your help with' and then they get the fuck outta the way.

SpecS - Special Operations Space Stations. Essentially space-based military bases for the training, care, equipping, R&D or manufacture of new equiment, and launch deployment of special operations units like N7's.

Oyapo - A bastardization of Oyabun (Japanese term, refers to the leader of a Yakuza faction) and Capo de capo (Italian/Sicilian, a leader in the old-school Mafia), it refers to the leaders of major criminal organizations.

Asari Glimmerwine - Take moonshine, add hints of tangerine and honey, a touch of LSD so life gets an ENB graphics upgrade, tint it with faint traces of a raver's blue glowstick, make the results smooth as oiled glass, and stick it in a bottle. Considered a 'Heavy' drink for people of means because smooth as it is, it still gets most people drunk off their asses in 3 shots or less.

R&R - Rest and Recreation, aka down time, aka vacation time.

CenCom - Central military Command

NavSpecWar - Naval special warfare, essentially any space-capable special operations unit. Or to be cute, Seals in space!

Operational Code - Classification levels, always ranked 1-5 low to high.

GN - General Knowledge, no restrictions or secrecy issues

S - Secret, something sensitive but not catastropically so

TS - Top Secret, something potentially nasty if it were to become known

B - Black, something that would be catastropic if it were to become known

DB - Deep Black, something that could potentially cause societal upheaval or significantly damage government operations if it were to become known

Compartmentalized B/DB, need-to-know operations so dangerous that if so much as hints of them leaked it would get thousands, maybe millions of people killed, severely damage military or political operations, or risk societal collapse

Command Liasion Office - The unfortunate few who get messages and priorities from Cencom, then sort and relay them to the right people in NavSpecWar so they happen in the most efficient and effecitve manner possible.

I also stuck a lot of little in jokes in there, like Kojima the sneaky special forces guy. Which, for some reason now has me thinking "Secial Forces Guy!" but said like "Cable Guy!" from the Jim Carrey movie.

And on that note, time for some liquid coherence, AKA Coffee


	2. Chapter 2

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

NOTE!

The events of this chapter all happen roughly at the same time. Also, I made major changes to Liara since, upon thinking about it, her character in game didn't make a lot of sense. Her backstory was sparse, and she was an archaeologist, yet somehow went from shy and sheltered to galactic badass the moment Shepard shows up? Nope, not buying it. She either needs to be less badass, which would make her less useful, or have a more detailed backstory to explain why she's able to go head to head with Krogan and Geth the moment you set eyes on her.

Oh, and when Aria shows up? Shit's REALLY gonna go sideways.

Heh heh heh.

CH - 02

Dr. Liara T'soni knew when someone was sabotaging her career.

Academics were fiercely competitive, frequently treacherous, and almost always egotistical. Most people saw little more than scientists grubbing in the dirt looking for things that no one cared about and they never bothered to look past that placid surface. If you did however, they had a politely vicious 'survival of the fittest' mentality.

She knew about vicious. As the pureblood heir to two of the most revered, if for completely different reasons, matriarch of the last 3,000 years, she'd faced ridicule, venemous words, and outright attacks on her person since she could remember. At barely over a hundred she knew all too well how far people would go for greed or ego.

This, however, was the first time she'd ever seen someone outright steal another person's work and claim it as their own.

The moment she'd discovered it she'd immediately gone to the one person on-site that could straighten things out. Thus she was standing in front of the dig's supervisor and trying, so far without success, to prove it. She had the computer logs, her notes, everything needed to prove her case. The only problem was the worthless scutlepinch refused to believe the evidence.

"Ms. T'soni... "

" _Doctor_ T'Soni." She corrected, growling it out.

"Dr. T'soni, you have to realize how outrageous this sounds. People just don't do this kind of thing."

"Oh? Then how exactly do you explain someone known for sloppy, caustically short papers submitting anything this long, detailed, referenced, and neat? Especially using the phrasing I do with Prothean-speficic cross-indexing with other sites? Jilie isn't an expert on Protheans. She couldn't name half of these digs if you asked her to, which if you'd call her in here now I could prove!"

"I will do no such thing! This is outrageous, even for you!"

"Field operations manual, 217-91-R. If disputes concerning the validity of a submitted document arise, both parties must face a tribunal, including but not limited to citing sources and references from memory, computerized analysis, re-assessing the artifacts and data involved, and detailed analysis of security and surveillance logs. Are you refusing to obey the rules and regulations set forth by the University of Serrace to resolve this exact type of dispute?"

"You go too far child! Get out of my tent!"

Her right eye ticked at the reference to her age and she snarled "Your career is over." Then spun and left the haven of pomposity and idiocy without another word. Instead of returning to her own bunk however, she headed straight for the com tent and was unsurprised when she detected a call being routed there from the supervisor. Smiling maliciously, she tapped an icon on her omni and the call was blocked by an artificially triggered loss of signal.

"Nice try Kritik, but I was dancing the crest of waves better than my sire before I was 50." She muttered mockingly.

Composing the letter she needed to send as she walked she was just finishing it as she got to the com center, one of the few hard-wall buildings they'd brought. As she walked inside she donned a friendly smile and looked at the human man there to make sure people didn't waste valuable com relay allotments. "Hi Jack. Mind if I send a quick letter to my mother? I'll pay for it since it's personal."

"No problem Dr. T'soni." He replied, the hopeful glint in his eyes about as hard to miss as a Krogan at a Volus party.

She quickly sent off her message, routing it through a relay she'd setup for covert comm's to handle her duties as the Sateile of house T'soni. That done she stood up and smiled, then sneered as the backstabbing varren who'd stolen her work showed up, breathless from having run from wherever she'd been to the com center.

"Oh, did you want to use the relay? Go ahead Shisa, I just finished." She offered sweetly.

She had the satisfaction of seeing the bitch's depths-damned face pale to the color of sea foam as she walked out of the place smiling smugly. She knew it and she didn't care. Both of the people who'd had the unmitigated gall, not to mention stupidity, to screw with her would shortly be lucky if they could write orders at a fast food establishment, much less anything academic.

Having done what she needed to she returned to her duties and resumed work. Half an hour later the now-scared thief showed up and demanded to know what she'd done while the students discretely fled the area.

She stood, looked at the woman as if the pest was something she'd stepped in, and said "I alerted my sire, and the university, to the discrepancy in datawork as well as the fact our esteemed supervisor refused to fulfill her duties. I also appended all related security logs and feeds apended in case an _accident_ befell the local archives."

"You've... you've destroyed us!"

"No, you destroyed yourselves. I simply refused to be stepped upon." She retorted acidly. "Did you think I wouldn't defend myself? A pureblood, barely over a hundred, Satelie to one of the most prestigious and powerful houses of the hundred queens? I've faced bullies my entire life. People attacking everything I do and myself, personally. I faced my first noble house duel at 40 years old and killed the virulent little shit with a Santiir so powerful they had to rebuild part of the building. They never did find more than blood spatters. I've also had to deal with duties that have crushed people ten times my age, and I do so well enough even as a pureblood people are comparing me to Benezia in her youth."

"You've killed... ?" The woman asked, again pale.

"93 sentient beings in duels and self defense." She replied coldly. "Twelve of them were in a blood rage, seven via headbutts. As my sire loves to point out, I _am_ a quarter Krogan. I've faced professional soldiers, assassins, and even a matriarch once, and put all of them down like rabid varren. So tell me Shisa, why _exactly_ did you think, having done all of that and more, I'd simply lay down and take your infantile abuse?"

"Oh goddess... "

"Exactly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do my job. Without further incidents, I trust?"

"Yes maa'm!" the now-terrified woman frentically assured her.

"Good. I suggest you relay my assurances to Helis that as long as I'm not provoked any further I'll be content to let others handle the matter. Further incidents will be dealt with as tradition dictates and I very much doubt anyone here is willing to champion and die for either of you."

"I'll tell her immediately highness!"

"See you do." She stated, pointedly resuming her work.

-^V^- -^V^-

When she returned to the base for dinner everyone gave her plenty of space. Knowing how badly rumors started and then exploded, almost always warping in the process, she was probably being ranked with that human 'Butcher of Torfan' person by now. Not that she minded, the woman seemed more than formidable, though as far as she was concerned that woman had been merciful. Personally she herself would've been inclined to set the local populace loose on those slaving filth the woman had executed. Though, she mused, doing it on a live Extranet feed had been an inspired move. Not only would it cement the woman's reputation but it'd serve to make slavers think twice about doing anything to draw her wrath.

As her sire said frequently, 'Commanding through respect's best, but if some Vorcha-brained shit's too stupid to fall in line then fear's the next best thing.' Time had, as usual, proven her words to be gutterspeak disguising wisdom.

Thus, her dinner was uninterrupted by favor-currying fools and idiots attempting to dominate the pureblood princess in their midst. That made it the first meal she'd been able to actually enjoy since the dig had started. Not that she didn't like the food, a concept no one could understand, but being harassed had made every meal an exercise in self control.

She ate her FMRE, then donned her field belt and returned to work. Unlike most everyone else's, which were little more than fashion statements, hers was inspired by the advice of her elders. A few meal bars, a canteen of water, a folding multi-tool, a small canister of Medi-Gel, another of Omni-Gel, a multipurpose knife, a multipurpose Omnitool, and a sidearm just in case a digsite was attacked by pirates, slavers, or wild animals.

Her only company were mechs and she didn't mind that in the least. Computers weren't malicious and were usually silent. Half her 'friends' growing up had been the automated tutors she'd had for teachers since very few living mentors would have anything to do with a pureblood.

She was going over what she was fairly sure was a chunk of Prothean personal armor when she heard a distant rumble. She looked up and frowned at the rest of the dig site, then grabbed for her pistol as her Omni started vibrating furiously, alerting her to an attack. She looked around, cursed, then took up a cover position just outside the tower next to some boulders leftover from the main excavation.

A quick check verified the customized Soulfire pistol, a gift from her sire, was fully charged. That taken care of she settled in to wait. She could hear the sounds of weapons fire, screaming, the thump of explosives and the harsh electric ripping of biotics hammering against each other. Closer and closer, until she spotted some kind of creme-colored robot walk into the cavern. It was followed by several more, all armed with weapons she didn't recognize, and then her heart chilled when a Krogan followed them in.

"Look for that T'soni kid'n bring her blue ass ta me! Unharmed! Boss ain't payin fer a beat-ta-shit brat."

She grimaced. Kidnapping attempt, had to be. By whom she had no idea, only that she probably wouldn't survive very long the moment they found out her bearer, Benezia, wouldn't pay a demi-cred's ransom for her.

She put a shot into the Krogan, hitting him in the guts and punching a hole clear through him, then ignored the draw on her biotics as the weapon recharged. Instead, she focused her energy into a Santiir and blasted the flare into the middle fo the mechs. It hit, exploding in a 9 meter across eruption of biotic fury laced with lightning-like warp fields.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction she sprinted for the ruins as fast as she could move, setting up a singularity in the doorway to delay pursuit. Using the respite that gave her she jogged over to a pedestal and desperately typed on the still, if barely, working controls. There was a harsh pop, a tearing sound like sheet metal being slowly sundered as ancient systems roused themselves. Then a coruscating energy field appeared, sealing the entire tower, and she sagged in relief.

She took cover again just in case the shield didn't hold, then smiled tightly to herself when it barely ripped under the combined weapons fire of a dozen armed mechs and a blood-raging Krogan charge.

All I have to do now, she mentally reminded herself, is to stay put. People should notice the dig's gone dark in a few hours and a rescue team should be here shortly. 2 days, if I remember the briefing correctly.

Goddess, some days I wish I'd been born poor and powerless.

-^V^- -^V^-

"You done fiddling with that junction lady?"

Miranda Lawson, or as she was currently going by, Jessica Jameson, sighed and looked over at her escort. "No one can fix an entire network in a few hours Mr. Dereks. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or an idiot."

"Yeah? My friend Hank says all it'd take is a few software patches and a quick optimization."

She snorted. "If that were true the Eden Prime educational annex government wouldn't have hired someone of my skills from halfway across the galaxy. I'm having to deal with 9 competely different operating systems, not all of them human, several hundred programs, many of which are specifically designed not to work with the builder's competitors, and hackers trying to piggyback my code with back doors, all at the same damn time."

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes and simplified it for the cretin. "Think of it like trying to rebuild a ship in flight. It's got 4 Krogan drive systems, none by the same manufacturer, a nav system by Hanar, a power core made by Vorcha, sensors by a drell, weapons built by an Asari, and a frame by a drunk Salarian. I have to get all of that working together, all at once, without crashing the ship."

"Oh."

Bloody git. Ah well, on the bright side he's looking right at my work and can't tell that I'm adding in a few unwelcome extras. Gift horses, mouths, and all that. She mentally mused while returning to her work. Why the Shadow Broker had sent her a priority tasking to haul ass for Eden Prime and run surveillance on an archaeological dig that was little more than a how-to for rookies she had no idea. The pay was good however, so she'd said yes and figured it'd be easy money.

She'd setup her cover, a task helped by the fact the local government had an open call out to bonded PMC's with computer expertise, and had barely gotten to her hotel room before the rumbling roar of an Alliance fast response frigate had shown up and landed right next to her target. It'd then promptly disgorged 3 full platoons of what looked to be veteran soldiers backed by 2 MAKO IFV's and a full fledged field base with drone support.

Odd was worth money. Unusual? More money. Unusual and military? _Lots_ of money. Unusual, military, and so top secret the local populace had been informed recording or trying to find out more about the dig site was now a federal offense? A fortune in the making.

If she got lucky, the good kind for once, it'd be enough she could finally top off Orianna's trust fund so her little sister could live the life she'd never been allowed to have. Safe, with a family that cared for her and wanting for nothing, including the freedom to be whoever she chose to be. In other words, normal. Admittedly a wealthy normal but she refused to inflict the suffering and indignity of a life spent grubbing for credits to make ends meet on the only person in the universe she gave a damn about.

Finishing patching and optimizing the code while setting up an undetectable backdoor into the city's systems took her another 9 hours. When she finally announced she was done for the day however, she was reasonably sure she could get far enough into the military's affiliated systems to see what was going on _without_ getting caught.

She headed back to the hotel, had a nice meal in it's restaraunt, then spent a few hours working out in it's gym. Weight piles, treadmill, aerobics, and laps in the pool amidst having to politely rebuff the advances of what seemed like every man and half the women in the facility. Yet again she pondered getting plastic surgery to make herself less attractive. Smaller bust, smaller ass, plainer facial features, bland eyes. Maybe even eat more so she'd lose a bit of her hourglass figure.

As she'd told a broker agent once, being physically perfect was anything _but_ perfect.

Her workout done she returned to her suite, one of the nicer in the hotel since it meant she had some privacy instead of paper-thin walls and a cheap lock on her door. A long hot shower later she took a nap since she had a lot to do once the clock ticked 1AM.

-^V^- -^V^-

"Sergeant! Why are these men not on patrol and why are you on your ass instead of on duty?"

Gunnery Sergeant Ashley 'Ash' Willians looked up from her FMRE, glared at the platoon's second in command, and said "Since someone appears to have not updated the unit assignment posting since 10 seconds ago _sir_ ," She replied, turning the word 'Sir' into an insult, "My unit isn't scheduled for patrol for another 17 minutes. We're having breakfast, checking our gear, and prepping for said patrol. _Sir_."

"Intolerable! You're to leave at once or I'll have you court-martialed for dereliction of duty!"

She stood, her armored 1.8 meters of height putting her a solid 3cm above him, and looked him dead in the eyes. "Are you demanding I violate the DMCJ regulations on operational preparedness, mandatory rest periods, safety regulations, and needlessly endanger my people, _sir_?" This tme the word was a threat and everyone in hearing range knew it.

"I gave you an order!"

She didn't look away from the man's eyes as she said "Bhatia, call command and let them know Luitennant Jenkins is acting unbecoming, demanding a member of his command violate assorted regulations, laws, and basic fucking common sense, and that if the MP's don't cart his ass off to the brig in the next 60 seconds we'll need a bodybag _and_ a spot in the brig."

The man started sweating profusely. She had no career, they both knew it, and his actions were provably criminal. If she did kill him it'd be even odds on her winding up stuck on colony garrison rotation again. Considering the woman _liked_ colony guard duty, she'd probably consider it an attagirl instead of a punishment.

Exactly 59 seconds later MP's showed up and carted him off to the dubious safety of a 4 by 4 cell. Other than a 'Try to play nice with others' lecture however she faced no diciplinary action.

Ash watched him go, then resumed her chair and finished her food while the other members of squad 2 grinned and gave her a few quiet 'OoRah!' salutes. She smiled back, then powered through the rest of her breakfast so she'd have more time to make sure her gear was to-spec sinc unlike most everyone else she was running her own weapons and armor.

Instead of an Avenger she had a customized Mattock. Her pistol was an equally modified Phalanx, and she had a Viper sniper rifle customized for power and penetration, though it's rate of fire was shit and it weighed nearly twice as much as the stock version. If not for the enhancements in her equally nonstandard armor using it in the field would be a massive problem.

Things went according to schedule after that and half an hour later her squad was in the field running a patrol in an SMALV, though most people called them salve's since the suspensions were shit and you'd wind up with a sore ass after a klick offroad. Thankfully they were on city patrol duty so all they needed to do was run their route, respond if local SWAT requested military assets, and let the vehicle's own sensor suite run every face it saw through an ident check.

They were passing by a bar talking about heading there after their shift was up when the radio beeped. She looked to Bhatia and the woman checked the display, then frowned. "We've lost comms. Not just military, the entire network's down. The local sun gets pretty nasty flares but we're on a hardened system. Anything shy of a milSpec EMP shouldn't so much as give us static."

"Shit! Weapons hot people! Donkey! Into the turret! You're on eyes in the sky duty! Everyone else eyes open and cover your angles!"

"Holy... Invading forces! Brace for shockwaves!"

She'd just managed it when the vehicle was kicked into an all-night mini mart while every single building in the area was hammered like a shavetail on their first leave. Armor glass shattered, people screamed, things exploded, sounds and pressure assaulted the senses. She was slammed into the door, her armored head bounced off the frame so hard she heard something crack and light exploded behind her eyes. She fought her way through it and managed to grunt "Report!"

Other than grunting, moaning, and the gurgling of someone drowning in their own blood she got nothing. Reflexes, training, and experience got her hand to her armor's medical system and a moment later Medi-Gel dimmed the pain from blinding to nasty. Her helmet display flickered in her face, warning her of damage to her suit, damage to her, and the fact her people were fucked up. She looked around and cursed. The turret had been partially crushed and Donkey was trapped in what was left.

"Shit! Bhatia! Wake up girl! You're on deck!"

"Whazza?"

She cursed, found the unit medic's own automated medical system, then tapped the 'Diagnose and treat' control. A moment later the corporal jerked, looked around, and didn't waste time being mad, she got to work.

Five minutes later everyone but Donkey was functional. He was dead, bleeding out before they could get him out of the wreckage to treat. She took a moment to let god know the man might've been rough around the edges but he deserved a hero's welcome, then said "Rick, salvage. James, pop a bug and get a look around but use short range civilian freq's only. Nirali, check our comm's. If we're still being jammed I want all radios offline so the enemy can't backtrace 'em."

"Aye ma'am!" They all replied before getting to work. She checked her weapons, used some omni-gel on her armor, and kept an eye on the area. Eden Prime was like Vegas, with one main city and a lot of 'hub' cities. Most handled the farming and ranching stuff, but the one they'd been stationed in had been essentially academic.

Now it had a lot in common with a beer can that'd been stomped on by a pissed off jock.

She shook her head, then said "Report."

Rick, first to speak, said "We've got good news and bad news. Our missile launcher's down for the count, our comm gear's swiss cheese, and the truck's deader than my place after a kegger. Grenades look okay but the case was crushed so I wouldn't suggest we screw with it. Good news is the ILAW's good to go, we're set on omni and medi-gel, and the flare kit's good to go in case we need to signal for help, evac, or arty."

"Out-fucking-standing. James, what've you got?"

"Area seems clear of hostiles but the damage is major. Whatever they hit us with was a hell of a lot more than the usual arty. Nailguns would be my guess. Either that or a capitol ship's main battery. Emergency services aren't responding to anything, probably because they can't, and other than a few stragglers the local civvies are either dead or broke. Fires don't seem to be big or spreading however so there's that much good news. Oh, and that bar we passed a minute back's mostly intact."

That earned him some chuckles. Bhatia went next and confirmed the worst-case. "Comms are still jammed on all military and police freq's. Whoever hit us is professional and has access to _really_ good gear. In good news however I know which direction and how far away the base is. Last, I think someone got a distress call out because the jamming went sporadic for a minute there. Maybe someone got lucky and hit something important."

She grimaced. "You heard her people, radio's offline and strict EmCon from here on in. Which way home?"

"That way, roughly 14 klicks. Estimate 5 urban and 7 rural."

She took a moment to sort out what to do next, then said "Okay people here's the plan... "

-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-

Notes

Crest of Waves - Asari term for high order politics and economics. Since the Asari, despite appearances to the contrary, are an extremely combative race, the Crest of Waves is a lot more dangerous than one might expect. Feuds, black ops, assassination, off the book brush wars, financial sabotage, outright theft, all and more abound. As an aside, the position of Citadel councillor isn't a pretigious one. It's viewed a lot like janitorial work. Dirty, messy, perpetually aggrivating, and occasionally dangerous, with no real power and every move you make scrutinized by people who wouldn't do your job at ten times the pay.

Santiir/Biotic Flare - Essentially an extremely unstable inside-out singularity, on impact they explode like small bombs with secondary effects like a large warp field. Only the most powerful Asari can manage it, most of them royalty.

Scuttlepinch - Asari equivalent of a Lobster, though they're extremely defensive and can puff out ink like an Octopus if they decide they need to haul ass for the horizon.

C4I - Command, Communications, Computers, Control, Intelligence. Essentially a command facility or systems needed to run a command facility.

IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Half bus, half tank, they serve to carry troops to and from active combat zones while providing protection and heavy firepower. The closest real-live analogues to a MAKO tank would be the United States M1128 Mobile Gun variant of the Striker and the French AMX-10 RC. Both are essentially MAKO minus the jump jets and flubber driving physics.

MRE - Meal Ready-to-Eat. Essentially a self contained, self-heating TV dinner for troops in the field that can be stored for years and still be safe to eat. Formerly despised by troops, a lot of work has been put into making them taste decent and get more variety so they're not as bad as some things, like hospital food.

SMALV - Squad Maneuvers Armored Light Vehicle

ILAW - Infantry Light Automatic Weapon. A man-portable machinegun like am M249B or M60

EmCon - Emissions Controls. Essentially minimizing or eliminating transmissions, be they radio, video, or data.

Asari Government (Simplified overview)

The Asari are ruled by a council of queens. In the ancient days before they united the Asari consisted of a lot of small warring kingdoms. Then the order of Athame showed up and slowly brokered a cease-fire. 100 of the most powrerful rulers showed up for the final meeting, and ever since then the ruling houses have been known as the hundred queens.

The current ruling caste consists of the descendants of those queens, each still owning and running a kingdom but _with_ their neighbors instead of _against_ them. At least in theory, though the reality is that most conflicts have simply turned covert and are ignored as long as they don't draw too much attention.

The temple of Athame's power eventually receded as belief in it's doctrine faded. No longer the de-facto leader of the Asari people it's now half cult and half syndicate, pretending to purity in public while scrambling frentically behind the scenes to keep from becoming completely irrelevant.

Sires and bearers are words and concepts from other races that've crept into Asari culture. Before contact with other races they hadn't distinguished the two, and for a long time couldn't understand why you'd bother. Now the heads of household are the queen, the regent, and the heir. Specifically the Basila, the Raeivan, and the Sateile.

Regarding Liara's parents, Benezia is widely feared and respected for both her political and financial acumen. House T'soni's power under her has grown to tremendous proportions though in recent years she's been cold and aloof with everyone, her once-beloved family included. She's also become a recluse, constantly on the move, seemingly at random, operating mostly through third parties.

Aethyta, formerly of house S'raia, is a respected commando and widely regarded as one of the deadliest beings alive. She met Benezia on diplomatic guard duty and the two had a whirlwind romance, got married, and lived as quiet a life together as they could manage. Liara was born and they both did everything in their power to protect and prepare her. It wasn't until Benezia's entire being turned cold that they split up, but Aethyta still loves her and hopes one day to find out what's going on so she can reunite her family.


	3. Chapter 3

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

NOTE!

This is all happening just after the news about Eden Prime has hit the galaxy. Shepard is already on the Citadel having her first meeting with the Council, though no one save the Illusive Man knows it since it's a classified meet. As for why I'm doing this now, as a character in Sword Art Online said, the Hero(ine) always shows up last. :)

CH - 03

Urdnot Wrex looked around as he finally walked out of Citadel customs. C-Sec had been a their usual whiny little varren shit selves, but that was about as surprising as a hyperactive Salarian. They weren't fond of Krogan Battlemasters, especially ancients like him, and especially not those able to control oceanfire.

It hadn't helped that he'd refused to give up his Rach'rit. They'd tried to take it from him of course but unfortunately for them he was stubborn and, more importantly, had all the right permits.

As the pinkskins liked to say, it paid to know the right people.

It was a wise saying from one of the more... rambunctious species in Citadel space. They did everything with a passion and fury he knew intimidated a few of the older races but because of it they'd had more of an impact on the galaxy than some races that'd been around a thousand years. He frequently found it annoying himself but hell, they'd managed to piss off the Turians and survive it. If the Krogan respected much it was anyone able to do that.

Between the scans, interrogations, background checks, and being forced to just wait for hours on end as they tried to bore him into doing something stupid he'd had little to do except play what humans called 'browser games' on his omni and watch the news. The one where you fired little spherical birds into things was amusing and had probably been the best 5 creds he'd spent in a long time.

The news had been it's usual chaotic jumble of badly disguised PR and a story about a human colony that'd been attacked by some kind of mechs. Considering the fact it was one of their 'garden' colonies and they were nearly as defensive of those as the Turians were, that actually managed to get his attention.

Most of what they'd shown was illegally obtained armor-cam footage so the vids were all shakier than an asari stripper's ass. Despite that it'd been painfully clear that thousands of people had been slaughtered. Civilians mostly, women and children included. That pissed him off. It was one thing to attack warriors but you didn't _ever_ go after fertile females or younglings. Even clan Ganar wasn't evil or stupid enough to do that. Sure they'd sell any they captured as slaves but they'd treat 'em like Asari spinarette sculptures as they did.

Five hours after his arrival they'd finally tired of pretending they could toy with him and he was a free man. While he made the annoyingly long trip to the embasies he checked his omni and grunted at it's contents. Some junk mail (Deleted), a few messages from friends (Skimmed) and a couple potential job offers (Appraised) were about all of interest, though a new episode of Cold Rage, the legend continues had come out.

Barla Von's offer had been impossible to pass up. Some muscle work to reign in a local wannabe crime boss in exchange for information regarding his grandfather's armor. As humans called it, a piece of easy. Hell, for what the gas bag was offering he'd have done the job and paid _THEM_ for it.

After stopping at a snack kiosk on the way to his destination he finally walked into the gasbag's office and got straight to the point.

"I'm here. What's the job?"

"Eloquent - hsss - As always Wrex."

"I'm a Krogan, not a damn Asari."

"I noticed. A local associate of - hsss - the broker's has shown signs of serving more than one - hsss - master. You're to find out if he is. If it's so you're - hsss - to eliminate him."

"Any preferences?"

"As long as you - hsss - are your usually efficient self we don't care - hsss - what you do."

"I'm on the job then. Anything else?"

"No, though I'm seeing odd financial - hsss - movements among several top-tier corporations. Incomprehensible. - hsss - Unprofitable in the extreme. Something is very - hsss - wrong. Be unusually careful."

"I'm _always_ careful. If I wasn't I'd be dead." He retorted. With a nod he turned and walked out of the odd being's equally odd office to get to work.

His first stop was an arms dealer he knew. Publicly he ran a legit gun shop. If he knew you however, he'd sell you damn near anything including shit so illegal just _knowing_ about it was 5 years hard labor in an eezo mine. If he knew you really well, he'd answer yes/no questions, though it'd cost you a big chunk of change to do it. If anyone would know about rogue crime bosses on the Citadel, it'd be him.

He walked in, nodded at the Drell owner/salesman, and waited while the man finished selling an Eclipse merc a few barely-legal ammo blocks for an executioner pistol as well as the pistol itself. He wasn't sure the woman could fire the thing without breaking her arm but as long as it wasn't pointed his direction he really didn't give a shit.

Once the blue was gone he walked over and clasped hands with the man as if they were old friends, covertly slipping him a piece of flimsi in the process, then asked "Got any reloads for my Rach'rit?"

"One case, I think. Give me a moment, I'll check the back room."

"Sure."

He waited a few minutes, then the greenskin returned looking a bit paler than usual but carrying a box with a quad-stack of ammo blocks. "Here you go. 30,000 but it's gonna be a while until I can get more. 6 months or so."

He blinked. Whatever he'd stumbled across had the man so scared he was going to dissappear for half a year? Not good. Not good at all.

He paid, said "Thanks." then left. As he walked to his next destination he ckecked the box in the bag. On the side was a 'this way up' sticker pointed the right way. He nodded and kept moving, now more wary than usual. Fist _was_ working for more than one person. Whoever number two was they were dangerous enough to terrify one of the most capable and entrenched illegal weapons dealers alive to the point he ran the moment someone asked about it.

He brought up his omni and typed a quick message on it, then sent it off to another local contact. An ex duct rat he'd saved from organleggers that'd been surprisingly useful ever since. After the kid had gotten too big to run the ducts he'd gone into information gathering. Proven pretty good at it to.

He took an auto-shuttle to the wards and after getting out of the cramped junker spotted the teenager nearby looking anxious. That wasn't good either. A quick look around didn't show anything out of the ordinary but he was increasingly edgy anyways. Duct Rats, even ex duct rats, were damn near fearless. For one to be standing there looking nervous had his plate itching.

He walked over, greeted the youngling, and instead of asking a question handed him a micro memory stick. The kid slotted it into his omni, paled sheet-white, and typed out two words. One expected, one far from.

Yes. Saren.

He grimaced, then handed over a 10,000 certified cred stick and said "Take a vacation kid."

The only response he got was a quick nod and the young man quickly walking off but he'd done what he needed and more. Ancestors, if that Vorcha kissing racist was involved things had just gone from 'annoying' to 'you're fucked' in an afternoon. No one in their right minds crossed a Specter, but screwing with the council's favorite flapface? You'd be better off to stick a shotgun under your chin and pull the trigger.

Muttering "I'm getting too old for this varren shit." he headed to Chora's den for a stiff drink while pondering how to survive the maw pit he'd apparently blundered into.

-^V^- -^V^-

Tali'Zorah Nar'Rayya looked around furtively as she limped towards the clinic a Batarian she'd spoken to a few minutes prior had directed her to. Clutching a pressure bandage soaked in medi-gel to the wound in her side, her body pumped full of the maximum safe dose of antihistimines, she could barely tell which way to go. Her breathing had more in common with a choking gurgle than anything remotely healthy, and the damage display in her suit's helmet was blaring medical alerts.

Suit breach? Bad.

Suit breach on the Citadel in the wards? _Very_ bad.

Suit breach in the wards because you'd just been shot with a radioactive bullet fired from a high powered pistol? She was more than slightly surprised she wasn't already dead.

Thankfully one of the few pieces of actually useful advice her father'd given her before she started her pilgrimage was 'never go anywhere unarmed'. Her original weapon, a basic Scimitar shotgun was long since gone. She'd replaced it months ago with a Reeger upgraded with a top of the line fire mod she'd 'liberated' from a slaver that'd tried to kill her. That and a Phalanx with an armor-piercing mod that reduced it's rate of fire but enabled it to punch rounds through anything short of Krogan battle armor.

A capability the three men, a Turian and two humans, had discovered the hard way.

She'd incinerated one with her shotgun, taken cover behind a stack of crates, switched to the pistol, and shot the Turian right through his chest. He'd fired at the same time and punched a round through her side, thankfully missing anything major in the process. The last of the group hadn't bothered try to finish the job. He'd screamed and run away.

Her trainer, Kal, had given her a few more life lessons, almost all of which had been of the life-saving variety. Among the most useful was that if you had the time _always_ check downed enemies for anything of use. Thus the medical pack taped to her side and her hew pistol, a customized Asari acolyte. It only had 3 more shots but it was heavy firepower and worth a decent amount of money so it was magnetically stuck to one of her legs just in case.

Why anyone had shot her, much less right after arriving at the citadel she had no idea and was too drug-addled to really care much about.

She spotted the clinic ahead and managed to hobble a bit faster. The lights were on despite the hour but the thermal sensors in her helmet indicated someone was inside. The automatic pattern-matching program linked to it identified it as a human female so if she got lucky she _might_ just survive.

The doctor looked up as she managed to get through the doors, then ran over to her as she finally collapsed. She fumbled some credits out of a pouch and mumbled "Polonium round. Mugged." before she finally passed out.

The only thing left in her head was the void of absolute silence.

-^V^- -^V^-

"The fuck?!"

"You heard me Vakarian! As of now you're on patrol duty!"

"I was checking into a known high ranking member of a Wards gang! Why's that got me on sore pads detail?!"

"I will say this once, you'll forget it, and if you keep digging into it I'll have your badge on my desk right next to your thick-plated head. You bumbled into a Specter investigation, endangering an ongoing operation in the process."

His mandibles clicked in sudden understanding and aggitation. Executor Palin had been turned down for the Specters in his youth but he was still what the humans called a 'fanboy'. Any help they needed, legal or not, they got the moment they asked. Get in their way or badmouth them however and he'd ruin your career without a second thought. If he wasn't _very_ careful about what he did next his would simply be the latest in that very long line.

He snapped to attention, saluted, and said "Sir!"

"Good. Get out of here."

"Sir!"

He turned, parade-crisp, then left the room and the hypocritical sirefucking worthless piece of shit occupying it.

Walking out of the command offices he headed to a friend in data processing. A positively gorgeous Turian lady he'd dated once and managed to break up with without breaking her heart. They were still close friends however and frequently swapped favors. Stopping to get a dextro cafe mocha latte from a vending machine (Why the acrid drinks had become so popular he had no idea, they were like drinking battery acid and fucked with your head) he found her at her desk and offered her the drink while playfully flaring his fringe.

"Teiri, got a minute?"

"For you G? Always. What's up?"

"The asshole upstairs just declared the case I've been working on a specter problem. Thing is, there's no concievable reason it would be. The target's not well placed, not influential, doesn't pay anyone off, and barely bothers to hide his operation. The only reason he's lasted as long as he has is because we had bigger problems to worry about."

"I'm not going anywhere near a specter system G. Not even for you."

"Not what I'm asking." He replied, flicking a hand in negation. "I wanna know if my target's got any active class-C or higher wants. If he does I have every legal right to haul his ass to jail. Anyone wanting to then get him _out_ of jail'll have to give me some damn answers."

"Not worried about his lord high pyjack?"

"I'm not breaking any laws or regs so if he screws with me I have every legal reason to haul his ass to a tribunal and with my sire's connections I can force an investigation. Considering how many lives as he's destroyed, and how blatantly, I'd give even odds on our winding up with a new boss."

"Never screw with a Vakarian?"

"Got it in one." he replied with a chuckle.

"Niiice. Who's the target?"

"Human male named Fist down in the wards. I know he's into drugs and guns but getting enough evidence to actually _do_ anything about it's been a giant pain in the plates."

"No problem. Checking... wow. 17, 11 of which are C's and up. Ashes, he's even suspected of being involved in burnwear smuggling and sales! How is he not sitting in a cell already?! Running a monitor check... interesting. He's on the com with one of Rebly's people. Word monitoring's not getting anything but... aha! He just did an extranet search for a clinic a few blocks over from Chora's."

"Perfect. I'll head that way then."

"No problem, just don't forget you owe me a nice dinner." the woman replied, smirking.

"Hey, this is me!" He countered, faking hurt pride. She laughed and he offered "Sessi's bar and grill after shift?"

"Sounds perfect. I... damn."

He winced as a newsflash about a human colony being obliterated hit the net feeds displayed along the walls. Mechs of some kind had shown up and just started killing everything. No one knew why, no one was claiming responsibility, and the SA had already scheduled a press conference to complain about a lack of Citadel patrols in the area.

"Looks like they got hit hard." he observed with a scowl.

"Massacred is more like it. I've never seen mechs like those before. Some new design?"

"Gotta be though I don't recognize the style. Black Lab maybe?"

"I don't think so. Something's just... off."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. Every instinct I have's going nuts but there's not much we can do about it. Maybe we'll get lucky and some idiot'll try to route some stolen supplies through here."

"I'll see what I can add to the incoming goods watch lists."

"You do that. In the meantime, I need to find out why Fist's suddenly interested in that clinic."

-^V^- -^V^-

It wasn't often something managed to take him completely by surprise.

Cerberus had been running about as smoothly as it ever had. Money and information were falling on them like rain in a tsunami. Operations were largely running as smooth as could be hoped, and one of his best people, Kai Leng, had just pulled off a flawless assassination with tremendous potential scientific, industrial, military, and monetary benefits.

Of course they had assorted issues jamming a back cloud into his silver lining. A couple rogue projects causing problems, some people they wanted to get influence with playing hard to get, others they already had control over having sudden fits of concience, a council agent poking into one of the companies they covertly owned.

Each was a potentially catastrophic problem but problems, as the saying went, kept you sharp.

Jack Harper, now known to most as the Illusive man, _loved_ problems.

One of his greatest talents was in turning things most people would call apocalyptic clusterfucks into equally profound solutions. It was one reason Cerberus was as effective as it was despite it's relatively small size.

Scowling, he tapped the ash off his cigar as he appraised the news feeds and livetime analysis by his best people currently dominating the view before him. 24 hours ago he'd have sworn what he was seeing would've been impossible. Unfortunately for a lot of people, he'd been horrifically wrong.

His financial people had been giving him vague warnings for months now. Companies, major financial institutions had been behaving nonsensically. Transactions that'd seemingly been total financial losses, risky ventures, sudden stresses on certain kinds of bio-cyber research related to brainjacking or skillchipping people with no clear, or even vague motivations anyone had been able to deduce.

Despite nearly doubling the budget for the info-war cells his analyists still hadn't seen anything hinting at an impending large scale attack on a human colony. He'd have claimed they were incompetent asses but after going over the data himself he was forced to admit there truly hadn't been any warning whatsoever. That meant who or whatever it'd been was capable of mining, refining, manufacturing, and then deploying major forces in and of themselves, so completely off the books there hadn't been an intelligence agency in the galaxy, save possibly the broker's, that'd see a damn thing.

The tally of losses incurred in that attack were significant. 1 cruiser and 5 frigates, 4 of them heavies and one fast attack, wrecked. Most of an orbital defense network destroyed. A fast reaction force with 2 full platoons of hardened infantry supported by IFV's and drones, not to mention local guards and a detailed GTA defense network, all decimated. Hundreds of thousands of civilians dead. An entire hub town literally crushed, and a top secret military project he hadn't known about apparently having been destroyed.

The potentially worst part however?

Shepard had been there.

There were very few things that made him nervous. He'd faced N7's, SAISD thugs, STG agents, Huntresses, Turian Ghosts, C-Sec special invrstigations, and specters without batting an eye. Looked corporate CEO's who could and did dictate the fates of entire systems with the stroke of a pen in the eye and told them to kiss his ass.

She however, was more dangerous than all of them put together. Relentless, ruthless, intelligent, analytical, paranoid, and hideously lethal, just like she'd been built to be. She'd done more damage to his operations than some entire intelligence agencies.

It wasn't that she couldn't be killed. Others had managed that particularly difficult feat on several occasions, temporarily at least, but the woman flat out refused to stay dead. 7 times in a bodybag, 7 times back out of one. It was a record, as far as anyone could tell, and from what he knew it wasn't one the woman was happy about.

He liked to think he was a hard man. The things he'd done, the horrors he'd seen could and had broken more than a few people over the years. Ghost labs running insane experiments for one reason or another. Corporations killing thousands, calling it a terrost attack, and then milking the situation for every deci-credit and bit of influence they could. Politicians sacrificing defenseless colonies for political capitol and ambiguous gains.

So was he a hardcase? Hell yes. He had to be or a lot of innocent people would die.

But one thing he _wasn't_ was a monster.

Unfortunately for all of them she was the closest thing to a child, a legacy, as he'd likely ever manage. If she weren't he'd have sent his best assassins after her head and then, like that old movie suggested, nuked her ass from orbit just to be sure.

Thus, despite the danger she posed tpo both him and his operation, he'd made it clear she wasn't to be targeted. It wasn't an order his people liked, or one they always obeyed, but the few who knew why grudgingly approved.

Not _happily_ mind you, but very little concerning Cerberus, other than it's basic goals of keeping Humanity from getting bulldozed by the older races held much in the way of 'good vibes' as Ms. Chambers, his personal assistant/therapist, had put it. Now, to everyone's great surprise, himself included, his moralistic indulgence was paying off in ways even he'd never dreamed possible. Humanity was about to get their first spectre and his 'wayward girl' (Another Kelly-ism) was it.

So it wasn't without a measure of paternal pride as he read the reports about her latest disaster's fallout and pondered how best to take advantage of it.

-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-^V^-

Notes

Now that people have a general backstory on what's going on I'll be introducing Shepard and officially getting things going. This's where things will start going AU so be warned. My Shepard's a real piece of work, but not because she's some cast iron renegade bitch riding a perpetual rage high. She's broken, badly, and it's going to take a lot of work to patch the damage. Not fix it, you can't fix some things, but you can blunt them enough to pretend they're not completely FUBAR.

Acronyms and terminology!

Rach'rit - A relic of the Krogan/Rachni wars, functional examples of them are exceedingly rare and valuable. Essentially they're hand-held 25mm armor piercing cannon firing heavy slugs with needle-sharp tips sheathed in high temperature incendiary chemicals. Think 3-shot light vehicular cannon firing depleted uranium rounds coated in hyper-thermite and you'll have the general idea.

Asari spinarette sculptures - Ever see a cooking show where people make deserts out of crystallized sugar strands? Like that only it's not sugar. Extremely fragile, only three houses of the Asari know how to do it, and of those maybe five members of each, at most, are actually allowed to sell what they make.

Cold Rage, the Legend Continues - Imagine Kung Fu the Legend Continues but with Krogan.

Ammo Blocks - Self contained ammunition/power sources. Think the magazines from H&K G-11 rifles with integral battery packs to power the gun.

Reeghar Shotguns - Short range charged plasma weapons, they fire what amounts to plasma-charged lightning bolt flechette rounds. Pricey, especially outside the Flotilla, and manufactured by Reeghar Military Systems, the Rheeghar clan's small but highly respected weapons company.

Asari Acolyte - Instead of firing biotically-charged mini grenades in my book universe they're shell launchers firing compact dark matter enhanced mass effect generators that pulse on impact. They create powerful eezo enhanced shockwaves that leave an area temporarily without gravity. Great for flushing enemies from cover or splattering them across the local landscape.

Burnware - Illegal biotic amps lacking most basic safety measures. They allow more power to be pulsed through them but at the risk of them exploding or catching on fire, plus, in order to keep from blinding the users in pain from their brains being zapped hard they warp sensory data, turning pain into pleasure. Thus they're extremely addictive as well as potential skull bombs. VERY illegal but popular with gang members and low rent mercs who barely qualify as biotics looking to turn themselves into powerhouses.

NCBN - Nuclear/Chemical/Biological/Nanite

Now for a few teasers/notes

Yes, Wrex loves playing Angry Birds

Shepard is the most powerful non-Asari biotic alive. (Not counting 45% of her genetics)

She's extremely protective of the innocent and the defensless, especially children.

Don't fuck with her hair. Seriously.

She's one of those people everyone (In her case on the wrong side of the law) knows. Kind of like Patch back when Wolverine was batshit crazy and proud of it.

She loves sharp objects, people who prove themselves trustworthy, street animals, and headbutting people.

Omega's not as bad, and much worse, than in the game.

Please fuck with Aria. She needs the laughs.

The Krogan aren't a completely disorganized mess. They're only _mostly_ a disorganized mess.

Joker and Shepard have been best buds since OCS.

Last but not least his girlfriend (Not Shepard) is _hot_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

NOTE!

This actually takes place before chapter 2 with the segments on Liara, Ash, and Miranda. I know it's a bit jarring but to my mind the game just jumps you in with no context. OOOh, you get a super secret mission. But oh wait, all this other super important stuff happened before that mission launched that's integral to what you're doing now. Meanwhile, this other stuff's happening while all that _other_ stuff's happening, but we won't really go into much detail about it. We'll just toss in some nonsensical side quests and a money farm so you can leave the Citadel with non-crap gear after killing a helpless AI and your top talent special operations soldier, best of the best, getting conned by a 2-bit wannabe crimelord tossing out a 'woe is me' story.

Oh, and let's not forget you have to rescue an Asari, a water-centric species with no water and trapped inside a damn volcano of all things, that spent enough time trapped in a bubble for Eden prime to be attacked, Shep and co to get to the Citadel, sort shit out on the citadel, then, assuming you haul ass for Therum, the time it takes you to get there and fight through a bunch of Geth who have no real reason to be there. No one in their right minds would send THAT much force to pick up one noncom Asari, especially one in a purely civilian area. A Geth hunting party fronted by a Krogan, sure. Collosi, rocket units, hoppers, troops, and all the rest? Nope, not making a hell of a lotta sense.

Liara getting trapped I could've put after but I wanted to cement up front that she's NOT like in the books or any fic's I've read. Same for Ash. She's a soldier, a lifer, and a realist. An idealist with faith in god but not a lot else. She's not in it to win it either, she's in it because she's a Williams and they're military whether the military likes it or not. Miranda, because of the fact I want her to be my Femshep's romance (As previously stated no Futa since others have done futa out the ass, pun intended) so that means she needs to get brought in early. Thus the Shadow Broker's mission and her looming meeting of fate with Shepard.

CH - 04

 _ **This week on the Net!**_

 _ **Torfan, the aftermath, and what's next with your host Max Parker!**_

She watched as the video feed in the corner of the sport's bar switched from a glaringly garish splash screen to that of a human in a snappy suit with a dead serious look on his plastic-surgery-perfect face.

 _ **"Seven weeks ago, the Sol Systems Alliance launched an all out attack on the criminal den known as Torfan. The move, a blatant and stated retaliation over the attack on Elysium, was the worst defeat in human history since the first contact war."**_

Illegally obtained video feeds replaced the man as he continued to speak, showing a vicious ambush, pirates and slavers annihilating a battlegroup of SSA ships in an overwhelming maelstrom of violence.

 _ **"As you can see they fell prey to expertly planned and executed guerilla tactics and hidden defenses our sources say the man originally in charge of operation TRex, former Admiral Richard Herman, had been warned about."**_

She suppressed a grimace. He'd all but laughed in her face, calling all pirates slavers and 'criminal filth' utter incompetents that got by on luck. There was no way, he'd declared, they could pose any kind of threat to a serious military force.

Unfortunately it'd been only the start of his idiocy.

 _ **"The planning, preparation, and strategies of the attack were televised as a publicity stunt, including vital strategic and tactical information that resulted in the outright slaughter of an entire battlegroup including the fleet command carrier, the HMS Merovingian, on a live extranet feed."**_

The video cut to the man in question as he was arrested by MP's at gunpoint and literally dragged off while someone new took over in an effort to salvage the operation. To his credit, he'd done his best.

The video returned to space and the massive brawl that'd ensued.

 _ **"Admiral Pjeid Pipper assumed command and took a far more judicious approach, sending in the entirity of the 2nd fleet. The fighting was, as our viewers can see, intense. Every inch of space taken cost the SSA temendously. Seven of the intended twelve landing craft intended to breach the asteroid's starport survived to make an attempt, but all fell prey to a bizarre but effective network of defenses that had been sabotaged by the N7 scout unit, only to be repaired and upgraded due to former Admiral Herman's actions."**_

New video, this time of the asteroid itself and the scrap that'd once been part of the second most capable fleet in the SSA military.

 _ **"Admiral Pipper was relieved of command, and a third admiral assumed command. One of the heroes of the First Contact war, Admiral Tradius Ahern. All media was blacked out, all communications were scrambled, and it's only through our extensive network of freedom-loving informationalists that we know what happened next."**_

New video, this time simple diagrams showing some 'experts' ideas on the topic.

 _ **"Stealth craft slipped into the system and, using the most powerful munitions in the SSA arsenal, cruise missiles with Dark Matter Enhanced Nuclear, or DMEN warheads, destroyed the remains of the pirate fleet and the defenses that'd cost the SA so much. While this was going on a team of N7 specialists infiltrated the facility and proceeded to destroy it from the inside out. Thousands of pirates were killed, tens of thousands of their victims were freed, and it was here that the Butcher of Torfan, now known to be one Lt. Commander Shepard, engaged in the outright slaughter of hundreds of the galaxy's worst."**_

The video feed cut to hacked security cams showing her having the time of her life. Blasting off Santiir like party favors, whipping out Nisai like confetti, wrapped so densely in warp fields she looked like she was on cerulian fire, blasting away with her guns until they ran out of amunition only to switch to her Laseiri blade and proceed to slice, cut, kick, stomp, punch, and headbutt everything in sight.

It'd been glorious.

Slowly she'd been almost taken down by sheer weight of numbers until she'd used a biotic technique so rare, and so powerful, it'd supposedly visibly irked the head of the Justicar order.

Lasira.

Half a kiloton of kamikaze biotic fuck-you.

The video of course blinked off, but resumed from a different angle, this one of a lone figure surrounded by the glow of still-hot alloys, fires, drifting ash, bodies, and her, standing up as if rising from the dead. Her armor wrecked, body obviously badly injured, twin ponytail hair so clotted in blood it hung like rags of gore, helmet broken so you could see one eye through a gap in it's fractured visor. Gold hateful and glittering, it would've been easily mistaken for that of a Krogan if not for the fact it was in a human head.

She slugged back the double of whisky sitting before her like it was water and fought down the urge to spit. It wouldve been a glorious death. The kind she could've been proud of if not for the fact it hadn't killed her like it was supposed to.

Across the table her best friend said "Daaaaamn. I always knew you were hot shit on a battlefield but that had to've given every Krogan in the galaxy a massive quad-ball woodie."

She couldn't help but chuckle at his snarky declaration. From what she knew it pretty much had and the results were proving to be hilariously epic.

On the feed she went hunting for anyone still living. Without a word she dragged them to a semi-open area to lie in clusters of the unconscious or those unfortunates aware enough to be wailing in agony. Most were Batarians and Vorcha, though a few were Krogan and somehow, a Salarian.

Once she'd rounded them all up, she sorted them out into a line and the video cut again, this time to the cam from her omni as she started a completely unauthorized broadcast. Going down the line she'd ask someone their name, or if they weren't conscious stomping on their privates so hard they woke up screaming and then asking them their name. One by one, until she had them all, and then she'd flung out one last Nisai. A biotic blade ripped through the entire linup, right at ball-level leaving the entire lineup screaming in agony until they bled out.

She snorted as the entire bar erupted in men wailing and protectively grabbing their gonads. Even Joker looked pained despite the fact the part of his brain that processed the sensation had been surgically burned out to save the SSA money on medication.

His girlfriend however, was chuckling. "I swear men have some kind of psychic link centered on their dicks." She commented with a smile.

"It'd explain a few things."

The rail-thin man at the booth snorted. "Being a member of the gender in question I gotta say... probably."

The story went on, going into detail about the aftermath. Marches and protests by assorted groups. What was left of the Batarian government demanding justice. Official statements by various political and military entities. By the time it all wound down Joker and his supermodel girlfriend, a woman named Alyssa Croft, had both finished dinner and she was working on her third footlong 'classic style' pastrami sandwich.

"So did anything _good_ actually come of that whole mess?" Alyssa asked warily.

She managed a quick smile and nodded. "I was adopted by the dark house. That's... I don't know how to put it that'll make sense. They saw how powerful, skilled, and ruthless I am, evidently did some digging and now, well, I'm technically Asari. Not that a large chunk of my genetics aren't but I have an official people. Sort of. They even made me my own Laseiri blade. That's... I don't know how to explain it." She shrugged, something squirming in her guts that had nothing to do with grease overload.

Joker choked on his beer, spluttered, and hissed "Those psychotic blue terminator bitches from hell _adopted you?!_ "

"Yeah. The senior sister I spoke to said they saw potential in me to be more than I am. Better, not just more powerful. Considering their history... " She shook her head. "If anyone can help me un-fuck my head, it's them."

"Good luck with that shit. Still, it explains the case you've been carrying around the last couple weeks. I thought you were ignoring that court injunction. Lemme guess. Cultural artifact?"

"Personal religious. I'm kinda an Athamist and the Dark House is too, sorta, so technically it's covered by crown-level laws on religious and ethnic tolerance. That idiot pretending he's a therapist hates it. He didn't want me anywhere near a weapon until my stress index dropped a solid 50 points but regs are regs."

"No shit. What happened to the one you had before?"

"Gave it back to 'em. It belonged to a prominent sister a few centuries ago that dissappeared investigating rumors about a powerful Asari criminal in the Terminus Systems. Not Aria, someone else. No idea who though. Whole op was buried up fast and hard. All I could figure out was that whatever it was, it was were so beyond the pale they make even her look like a puppy."

"Fuuuuuck."

"How? She's the most powerful biotic alive, right?"

"Not quite, but close. The most powerful is the priestess of the cresting wave, Ria'la Tolia, but she rarely leaves the temple of Athame unless shit's so bad you need a fanatical walking nuke to fix it. Close behind her is the head of the Dark House, Laraia Vasir. She only leaves the shadowlands when she's needed. Usually she just teaches sisters what she knows and keeps people from going overboard. The head of the Justicar order and Aria are about equal but they lag behind the first two by a bit. The queens of the more powerful houses are, generally, a lot stronger than most everyone else. Athyta Vasir, the youngest sister of Laraia, is rumored to be as powerful as Aria but she's so fucking deadly even _without_ her biotics no one's sure how to rank her. Her bondmate Benezia T'soni supposedly ranks up there with Aria but she generally preferrs talking to fighting so no one's really sure. Jona Sideris is bad shit in every sense of the phrase. The last of the Krogan Warlords are hardcore too, but no one's really tried to rank 'em. Usually they're too busy running for their lives."

"If they're all so powerful who can make the ice queen of omega look like a puppy?"

She grimaced. This wasn't exactly top secret, but it was still the kind of thing you didn't go blabbing about. After a moment, she went for the oblique route. "They're a subset of the Asari. Insanely powerful and just plain insane. Past that I'm gonna suggest, _strongly_ , that you forget I ever said anything. It's about as 'non-topic' for the Asari as things get."

For once Joker agreed, his expression dead serious. "I know what she's talking about and trust me. You _really_ don't wanna know more. It's an 'Ignorance is bliss' kinda deal."

"... Okay."

She opened her mouth to tell the woman she was being smart when her Omni vibrated on her wrist. She blinked, swiped a finger across the scanner, then waited the second it took to verify her identity. Once it did a display ballooned out of it. Thin as a human hair but the size of a large desktop keyboard and polarized so only you or someone right behind you could see it's contents.

Spotting the 'New Message, NavSpecWar/CenCom' header, she poked the 'open' icon and read it's contents.

 **Classified Materials**

 **Unauthorized Access will result in termination**

 **Message Begin**

 **From: NavSpecWar/CenCom**

 **To: Lt. Cmdr. Shepard**

 **Re: New Tasking**

 **Lt. Cmdr. Shepard is reactivated and is to report immediately to SpecS-22 for priority re-tasking. Authorization for vehicular draft is given per directive SpecCir 15.**

 **Note from command source/Col. David Anderson: Move ass Shepard, and tell Joker to turn his damn Omni on. That idiotic mandate from medical's vapor as of now so grab your toys and get here ASAP. Oh, and please don't commandeer the base commander's Ferraudi again. I hate listening to him whine. He sounds like a 6 year old.**

 **End of line**

 **Unauthorized Access will result in termination**

 **Classified Materials**

She grinned, then looked to Joker and said "Looks like we're on deck. Anderon says to get your Omni on or he'll have you flying New York cabs for life. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish off this sandwich ASAP so I can go steal the base commanders car again."

-^V^- -^V^-

Dressed in her comfortingly familiar BDU's and carrying everything she owned in a pair of heavy duffels and a large camper's backpack, she couldn't help but feel better. This was what she knew. The special operations military life. People who worked hard, were constantly on edge, and carried weapons like most people carried their wallets. Bullshit tolerances were few and far between and everyone was held to the highest standards.

Ahead, Anderson waited for her with a half scowl, half grin. As she approached he asked "Didn't I say _not_ to comandeer the base commander's car?"

She donned a too-sweet smile and replied "I was just trying to prepare you for when Kahlee finally talks you into children sir."

He snorted and waved for her to follow. She fell in step next to him while asking "What can you tell me?"

"Not much until we pop dock. All I can say is that it's highly classified, urgent, and a crown branch priority."

She grimaced. Anything to do with Crown branch was damn near guaranteed to turn into a complete clusterfuck. Security leaks, contradictory orders, nonsensical parameters, counterproductive mandates. The list went on and was written in blood, every word of it.

"How much autonomy do we have?"

"Full discretionary and an isolated command chain."

That eased a few of her concerns. Not _all_ of them but like people said, some was better than none. "Gear restrictions?"

"Nada. You can use your favorite toys on this one."

Niiiice. She wouldn't be forced to use SA Standard equipment and weapons. More potential problems faded and she figured life was starting to look up.

Then she saw the ship through a wall-window and they came back in full force with a lot of friends. Humans named ships after important battles and people. It was a cultural oddity of theirs she'd found useful a few times for gauging the potential danger of one. Being faced by a sleek prototype so top secret even she hadn't heard rumors about it that was named after one of the most pivotal battles in their history?

To quote an old movie, 'Do you know the meaning of the word foreboding? As in badness is happening _right now_.' Seeing the thing, every 'oh shit run' instinct she had reared up and started screaming badness was happening. Godzilla in a Krogan bloodrage kind of bad, _right now_.

Anderson stopped and smiled. "SSV Normandy. Prototype off the line with systems so classified I'd have to shoot the both of us if I mentioned 'em outside her hull or a flag rank black box."

She recovered, scowled, and said "I've got a bad feeling about this Anderson."

He paused, then grimaced. "Ahern's had one of his infamous 'bad feeling's for weeks. Shanxi bad. That's why we're taking this ship instead of something more conventional. She's got full loads on all stores, a marine contingent with MAKO support, and one of the best docs in the service in medbay."

"Hey dirtgirl! They dragged you into this shitpile too huh?"

She turned and spotted Joker headed their way, his body shimmering the faint blue of an active eezo field. The exoskeleton he had to wear to be able to move safely was all but hidden in his uniform, quietly hissing and whirring as he approached with a grin.

Anderson chuckled and added "Oh, and the ship's ass is in the bow, not the stern like most."

"Boss! C'mon man, I'm not that bad!" The rail-thin smartass complained.

She looked at him, an eyebrow high, and asked "Which one of us was it that got arrested for verbal lewdness while carousing after graduating OCS _birdboy_?"

"Hey! How was I supposed to know she was from Indistan? She didn't have that red dot thingy or an accent! Not to mention she was having a hamburger. Those're kinda a beef thing last I knew."

"Joker, if you want to get behind the wheel of this fresh off the line and never-before-flown ship shut up, fall in line, and at least pretend you're in the military." Anderson retorted, scowling.

He snapped to attention. saluted parade-perfect, and barked "Aye sir!"

The grizzled colonel rolled his eyes and motioned for them to follow. As they rounded the bend to the ship's docking umbilical she asked "Alyssa?"

"She's good. Got a call just as I was checking my messages telling her the photoshoot she'd been told was in 11 hours was in three and had been moved to the other side of the continent. Kinda sorta pissed at her manager at the moment for okaying the change but the bonus she's getting smoothed things out a bit. Another few months and we should have enough to get a house somewhere nice. Settled-space nice, not 'fancy on the ass end of space' nice."

"Good luck with that." She replied neutrally. Romantic entanglements were something she understood in the abstract, but as a practicality struck her as idiotic. They divided your focus and made you prioritize something besides your own survival. Either skyrocketed the odds you'd die stupidly. Both together all but guaranteed it.

He chuckled. "You'll be singing a different tune when you find someone Shepard. Believe me. Woulda sworn I was a lifelong bachelor 5 years ago. Then I met Allysa and, well, now I think I was a blind jackass."

Ahead of them, neither missed Anderson's exasperated "Well at least you're not blind anymore."

-^V^- -^V^-

174 minutes later she walked into the bridge and saluted, then headed over to the display table where the command staff were going over problems, solutions, and operational plans. As she approached Anderson looked up and asked "Good to go?"

"E1 Rate on all exams sir."

"Perfect. Okay ladies and gentlemen, introduction time. You all know me either personally or by reputation. Sub-brevet Captain David Anderson. 31 years in the service, experienced in both ground and naval operations. Re-tasked to field duty for this mission due to it's critical nature and classified intel indicating potential and severe problems."

He motioned to her. "Lt. Commander Shepard, no surname. Multi-species hybrid, N7, most powerful biotic in the SA though not without cost. 11 years in the service, 9 of them in black operations. Has more master's degrees than some universities and likes headbutting people that annoy her."

He then indicated a stoic older man with a balding paté wearing a uniform pressed so sharp you could shave with it. He was, predictably, sporting the harried yet dignified air of a long-time XO. "Lt. Commander Charles Pressly. Commander of operations, 39 years in the serivce, has more naval experience than most line admirals, and is E5-Rate in damn near every naval discipline there is."

Another motion. "Ship's head engineer, Lt. Commander Gregory Addams. 32 years in the service, PH.D in naval engineering, heavily involved with the Normandy's construction. Amiable and open minded as long as people don't screw around, and could probably strip this boat to the frame and rebuild it blindfolded."

"The commander of marines, Lt. Kaiden Alenko. 14 years in the service, 11 of them in special operations. Has refused promotions multiple times as they'd take him off line command. Expert in damn near every infantry and light vehicular weapon there is. L2 biotic with sentinel spec and an expert in electronics warfare."

"The ship's lead medical officer Dr. Major Karin Chakwas. Matches LC Pressley in terms of experience, has multiple doctorates, and open ear as long as you don't try to fill it with idiocy."

"The last of the command crew is senior flight officer Lt. Commander Jefferson Moreau. 3 years in the service, honorable medical discharge followed by 9 as a long-contract FMA. Triple-A rate pilot in pretty much everything that flies, drives, or floats. Suffers from brittle bone syndrome and mouths off a lot because he refuses to take pain medication since it interferes with his abilities. If you can even remotely let anything he says slide, do so. As a side note he and Lt. Commander Shepard have been best friends since OCS so anyone giving him shit will probably find theirs getting kicked out of them."

"Finally, we have Spectre Nihlus Kryik. Dossier is of course classified but I can assure you it's suitably impressive. He's here as a council observer since the Normandy's a joint venture with the Turians."

"Now what we're all best friends, here's the situation... "

-^V^- -^V^-

One jump, and 5 hours at FTL speed later, she was poring over display data for Eden Prime when she heard the near-silent bass thumps of the spectre approaching behind her. She turned and asked "Sir?"

"Good, you're as alert as your reputation would suggest. Please come with me. Captain Anderson and I need to speak to you in private."

"Sir."

She followed him to the secured briefing room behind the bridge and then waited to be addressed. Upsetting spectres was bad for your life expectancy so even if she didn't trust him, which she didn't, she had to at least pretend she didn't want to put a knife to a manibular linkage and demand answers.

After a moment the being's low gravelly voice laced with odd harmonics said "Shepard. I understand you're one of humanity's best field operatives. Are you?"

"Barring the fact I'm not human, yes sir." She replied instantly, trying to figure out where this was going. Was Eden prime a smokescreen for a covert mission launch? Were things on the colony world worse than the records showed? Was there a criminal that'd been through the area they needed her to track and kill? If so, why send her when they had a spectre?

Anderson, taking over, asked "What can you tell me about the state of humanity's role in galactic politics? The political angle, not the rest."

She blinked, then said "After the first contact war humanity bullrushed every race in the galaxy grabbing for power and influence. It started largely with the third-teir races, moved fast to the second tier, and has been trying to get into first tier relations for the last 3 decades without much success. You were tapped as a potential specter but after the ashland-aldfell operation blew up in your face and human ambassadors threw you under the bus to kiss ass, it's been stalled politically."

He chuckled while the bird regarded her dubiously. "An... interesting way to put it subcommander, but essentially correct. What can you tell me about the Protheans?"

"Precursor race. Evidence points to a galactic empire but no one's been able to confirm it. They were extremely technologically advanced as evidenced by the mass relays and the citadel. It was the discovery of the archive on mars that led to humankind gaining FTL capabilities and entry to galactic affairs. Prothean relics sell for large sums and functional relics have been known to cause wars over posession."

"Excellent. This mission has two purposes. One, a functional Prothean beacon has been uncovered on Eden Prime. As you can no doubt imagine, the situation has been suppressed to the best of our ability. This ship's task is to retrieve it for delivery to a university of Serrace location as yet unidentified."

"Sir." She replied, letting him know she understood the situation and it's ramifications.

"The other purpose is to evaluate humanity's current Spectre candidate. You."

She blinked, but before she could protest Anderson stepped in. "Shepard, we both know you're a slave to the SAISD. No one likes it. Not even, I suspect, them. If you join the Spectres however, not only are you free of them but your sisters will fall under citadel operatives familial protections laws. I know you don't like or trust the Spectres, but this's your _one_ shot at freedom. Trust them or don't, that's up to you, but can you honestly tell me giving this everything you've got is a bad idea?"

She scowled but shook her head. He was right. It was probably the only chance she'd ever have to get out from under the SAISD, but that didn't mean she wanted to be a citadel council enforcer.

Nihlus, clearly wary, asked "You would turn down the honor of being a council specter?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Given."

"Sir, I think the Spectres public mandate of peacekeeping is a pile of steaming varren shit. I've worked with you people before and the goal of _every single mission_ was to preserve the council's authority. _Not_ the peace, _not_ to protect the innocent, just their ability to dictate terms to people that wanted nothing to do with them. So yes, I'd turn down the so-called 'honor' of being a Spectre faster than a Batarian dosed on ice could blink. Sir."

To her surprise he chuckled. "Good. Rumors of your blunt honesty aren't an exaggeration. I'll be candid as well then. You're right. Sometimes we're sent on missions of... dubious ethical worth. None of us like it but we know, and accept, that the citadel council is, despite their personal ambitions, a far better option than the alternatives."

She sighed and grimaced, then shook her head and said "I'll go along with this trainwreck for the reasons Captain Anderson stated, but I still think this is the most assbrained idea I've heard in years."

"That's all we're asking Shepard." The scar-faced man replied, his tone relieved even if his face was professionally stern in expression.

"Good." The 2 meter tall alien next to him stated. "In that case this will be the first of several 'evaluation' missions we'll be working together so I can see your skills and mentality in action. I've got several manuals on basic Spectre operations and methodologies for you to study while we're in transit to Eden Prime."

She waved him off. "Already studied 'em."

He regarded her both warily and angrily. "Accessing Spectre materials without permission is a galactic-level crime."

She smirked. "Not in the Terminus systems. I had some spare time on a mission there a few years ago. Aria happened to have a copy so I did some light reading during the off hours."

The burly man in black armor made a rude noise but settled down. Sure she'd committed a federal crime in _citadel space_ , but she hadn't been _in_ citadel space when she'd done so. She'd been outside his jurisdiction. Not only that but her having winked hard at the law _then_ would save them both time _now_ that could be spent actually working. As saving graces went, it was about the only one a Turian would give a damn about.

"Fine, I'll give you the basic operations certification tests. Assuming you pass we'll skip that part of your evaluation."

Anderson, after an exasperated groan and a 'why me' look at the ceiling, refocused on the Eden Prime mission. Half a sentance in the brain-jarring blare of the 'oh shit' alarm went off and a holo-window appeared aganst the wall with Joker's face on it. There was no smile in evidence however. Only the cold intent of a veteran soldier on the front lines facing badness happening _right_ _now_.

"Captain! We just recieved a distress call from Eden Prime!"

"On screen!"

All three of them watched the message grimly. It was someone's helmet-cam, shaking from nearby explosions as a corporal frentically begged anyone nearby for help. Plasma blasts were flying past what looked to be a hastily-dug foxhole. People, cops in uniform and marines in full armor, were blasting out a constant stream of heavy fire and still getting cut down. Then, in the distance they saw something massive settling down in the background. A dark shape she couldn't identify other than the fact it had to be at least a klick tall and have a mass effect field more powerful than anything she'd ever heard of.

The message ended in what sounded like the foghorn from hell blaring followed by the badly distorted WHAM of a nearby explosion, flying dirt, and then static.

"Computer, mark 95, upper right, enhance and identify."

A moment later a 3-D extrapolation of the enemy ship appeared on the display. Estimated height, width, and mass were listed, and at the bottom of it all were the words "Unknown Hull" glowing an acidic red.

Instantly on the com to the bridge Anderson ordered "All ahead full Joker, and switch to a stealth insert!"

"Sir!"

She felt the faint thrum of the deck plating intensify as the ship's mass effect core increased power. The moment that call ended Anderson got on the PA system and barked "All hands, all hands, battlestations! Set condition S2! Charge and load all weapons. Damage crews to stations. Set EmCon state one. Medical prep for incoming. All ground elements on hot standby."

A control was tapped and she was already at a side monitor pulling up a system plot of Eden Prime. After a moment she swiped at it a few times, worked a couple menu's, then flipped it over to the command display and said "Sir. Recommend we come out here and use the gas giant for cover while launching a sensor torpedo to Eden prime like this." A red line with a miniature Normandy appeared, spiking into the system, then looping around the specified planet while another red line, this one with an eye over it, punched out towards the planet and settled into orbit.

"We can use the gas giant's gravity as a slingshot so when we decide to move we won't need to risk a drive spike, just maneuvering thruster bursts."

"Make it happen. Estimated time to target?"

"31 minutes at current speed."

"Engineering, give me top rated theoretical maximums on the core and route all nonessential energy to the drives."

"Aye sir!"

She waited for the thrum to increase, then ran another check. "Estimate's now 22 minutes but the ship's systems are getting fried by degrees. We can't keep this up for long."

"We don't need it to last long, we just need it to last long _enough_."

-^V^- -^V^-

Max Parker - Spoof of Max Headroom and Peter Parker. The visuals I leave to your imagination :P

Alyssa Croft - Daughter of a prominant archaeologist (Guess which one), she's got a master's in economics, another in alien sociology, and is a supermodel that works largely in advertising campaigns for luxury products. Met Joker at a bar she was slumming at between photoshoots, was impressed by the fact he knew who she was but treated her like she wasn't anyone special, and things went from there. They're not engaged, but would be if not for Alyssa's manager wailing over her career taking a nosedive. She's wealthy, with millions in the bank, but Joker hates charity so he's demanding he pay half of any and all 'together' items, IE the house.

Priestes of the Cresting Wave - In the church of Athame, they're essentially the military branch. They hunt down powerful threats to the religion or it's prominant practicioners, maintain security in and around their temples, and serve as bodyguards for those at risk. Think religious zealots with superpowers and you'll have the general idea.

Laseiri Blade - Know warp powers? Know chainsaws? Well, these are what you get if you make a chainsaw with a warp field 'chain' and stick a sword hilt to it. Runs off the personal biotics of the user and is thus only really viable for battlefield use by the more powerful Asari. Inspired by LoficalPremise's warp blades but taken in a different direction.

The Asari Dark House - When the war of the queens ended, it left a lot of very powerful, very deadly professional soldiers with nothing to do and no cause to call their own. They started clumping together in support groups, then those groups coagulated into the beginnings of the Dark House.

The Justicar Order - The same general people who founded the Dark House, some of them felt fucked over by everyone, got seriously pissed off by the injustice of the entire situation. They went vigilante on people and earned enough respect, and fear, for people to acede to their demands of autonomy and authority. Think an entire legion of Frank Castle Punisher clones with biotics forming a cult and you'll have the general idea.

FMA - Freelance Military Asset, IE a mercenary. Joker loves flying but hates military bullshit keeping him from pushing his limits so he waited for his tour of duty to end, then went private and got hired by special operations at Shepard's suggestion. Now he gets all the air time he wants, a solid paycheck, and isn't getting chemically brainfucked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 05

"My god... "

She ignored Pressley's horrified outburst as the first uploads from the stealth probes the Normandy had launched on arrival started cycling through Decon/Decode.

Their insert had gone smoother than lube on glass. Cut all nonessential power 10 seconds prior to emergence. Flash-update the hull's LEP sheeting on emergence, use maneuvering thrusters and inertia to get away from the snap/flicker of their arrival, then fire a full spread of stealthy UAV scouts off the missile rails. From there it'd been nothing but drills and waiting the three hours needed for the drones to get on station and do a prelim recon.

The next hour had been nothing but work, nerves, and more work for the entire crew, Nihlus included. She'd spent most of her time studying since Anderson, being the 'command from the front' type he'd always been, hadn't needed much in the way of backup or assistance. Other than relaying and occasinally expanding on the orders he gave, she hadn't had much to do that couldn't be handed off to more qualified personnel.

Eden Prime turned out to be a 'spoke' colony, with one central city and several specialized 'hub' towns of varying size. After the tower artifact had been discovered a Wolverine-class patrol/interdiction frigate, the SSV Wildfire, fresh off R&R with a crew almost entirely composed of combat veterans had been dispatched since it'd already been en-route to pick up supplies. Compliment listed was 2 standard MAKO IFV's, 4 multipurpose drones, two reinforced platoons of marine infantry, and the ship's own armament including 6 DMEN tipped strategic missiles.

Then the initial scans had come in and the good news had stopped dead.

All support services, power, sewer, comms, you name it, had been nailed by orbital 'hard' artillery. Every police station and guard post had been hammered by what looked to be some form of RPG cluster munition. The educational annex had been hit ten times harder. Coordinated OTS artillery fire had shattered 80% of the buildings there, and killed at least that much of the population.

Fighting was still ongoing but it was sporadic, uncoordinated, and being ground out fast by units of war-mechs with heavy weapons. The SSV Wildfire had been scrapped, the field base pulverized, and most of it's crew, the marines included, had been outright slaughtered by the enemy.

That'd been their second shock.

The attackers were the Geth.

About the only non-fucked news they'd managed to get was that the massive mecha-calamari wasn't in-system. Video of the thing had, due to a glitch in the ship's still-under-development software suite, been relayed along with the mission outline to damn near every station on the ship. To say people had been upset would've been an understatetement. Predictably, it'd been Joker to, as usual, sum up the entire situation with one snarky turn of phrase.

Tentacles, never a good sign.

Nihlus hadn't gotten the part about it being a good thing none of them were Japanese schoolgirls though.

Anderson, once the last of the initial scans had come in, started snarling out orders like a shotgun blasting rounds downrange.

"All hands! All hands! Set battlestations! All crew prep for extreme maneuvers! Joker, sending you a course! Make it happen. OIIA's, MAKO, Marines, and S1 are to prep for hot drops in 15 minutes! Shepard, get kitted up and meet Nihlus in brief 1 in ten minutes. Weapons, spin up accellerators, charge torpedoes, and load cannon. Defensive, charge shields and active defenses but do not deploy until ordered. Move it people!"

Alarms started blaring and she didn't bother saluting. She speed-jogged to her quarters and quickly stripped to the skin, then geared up. Special armor that wouldn't get destroyed by her biotics. Weapons that either wouldn't be damaged by, or were in point of fact augmented by, those same biotics. A few supplies, most medical, and some gear, most technical.

Once she finished she spent ten seconds doing a fast hard pat-down to see if anything would get knocked loose, then headed down a deck and forward to the field operations unit briefing room.

Walking inside, she was unsurprised to see Nihlus was already there and ready to go. Since she was about as big on small talk as she was on 'reality' vids, she skipped the social niceties and asked "What's the plan sir?"

"First, among Spectres there's no rank so you don't need to call me sir even if I am here to evaluate your capabilities. Second, I will give you operational mandates but nothing else. I think you'd agree it's unrealistic to expect to see your full capabilities if I, as humans say, ride herd on you."

She nodded, somewhat reassured by the response. "I can work with that."

"I thought as much. Your gear is, I notice, nonstandard. Why?"

"When I fully utelize my biotics it envelope me in a warp field I have only marginal control over. Intense mass effect fields destabilize on contact so modern weapons turn into bombs the moment I get serious. Between that and how the input/response lag effects me, hard armor's not really an option for me. Hence the enhanced bodysuit, primitive guns, and minimal gear."

"Ah. your file didn't say so I'd wondered. Where'd you acquire them?"

"One of my surviving sisters. She makes most of my gear."

"I was led to understand your actions and those of your sisters were tightly controlled."

"They are. I'm under 24 hour surveillance by the SAISD, have at least one tracking/monitor chip in me somewhere, and I'd be extremely surprised if at least one of the crew wasn't working for them. I do anything outside my mandate, both I and my sisters, as well as their kids and their mates, are all in SAISD labs being vivisected inside 48 hours."

"What's your mandate?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Depends on the operation. This time out it's to gather any and all possible information on the beacon, report any and all occurances of note, monitor the ship's tech for issues, and recover any enemy technology of note for later analysis."

"Not unreasonable."

She turned to face him, then growled "The orders? No. The fact they're allowed to exist to give them? Extremely."

"Agreed, however we have more immediate issues to deal with. Since I'm here to evaluate you I'm going to give you provisional lead. I think you'd agree, attempting to assess your true capabilities when you're being, hrm, what's the human term? Micromanaged? Would be counterproductive."

"Yeah, it would be, and thanks for picking up on it." She brought up the latest tactical maps they had, then said "We drop separately. You here, me here. Sweep forward roughly along these lines, then you recon the starport while I look for the beacon."

"Why split us up?"

"This attack has to be related to the beacon so they either want to destroy it or steal it. If their aim was to blow it up they'd have done that from orbit with ship's batteries. Since they're not that leaves theft and a freighter, and that means starport."

"Ah. What does orbital recon indicate is the beacon's disposition?"

"No luck." She replied, shaking her head. "The entire site was tented to keep people from being able to see what was going on. The tent's been damaged, but there's no way to tell if the beacon was destroyed and left in place or if it's been moved offsite somewhere with a roof."

"I see. So we cover both possibilities simultaneously, reducing the amount of time needed to locate the target."

"Exactly."

"Excellent. My only suggestion would be to avoid contact with local hostiles at all costs. As morally satisfying as it'd be, we're not here to rescue the locals. The beacon is our sole priority."

She grimaced. "Not an option for me. I don't consider civilians to be acceptable losses. Ever."

"A laudable attitude, but it could easily get you killed."

At that she snorted. "Whaddya you mean 'could'? I've been declared legally dead five times. Refusing to consider noncoms expendable caused four of them."

"While I'm impressed you've proven willing and able to stake your life on your ethics, perhaps you should've learned something from it."

Her only response was to grin wolfishly and rack the pump on her shotgun.

-^V^- -^V^-

"Zero-two to N-Apex. Down and green."

She waited a moment for the tapped-out code to get scrambled, then shot up to the Normandy on a microburst tightbeam transmission. A moment later more beeps, these fron an incoming message.

"N-Apex copies. Good luck."

She nodded and got moving, following the pre-charted waypoints she'd programmed into her navcomp. Never on them, but always in visual range of them, she moved quickly and efficiently from cover to cover, skirting clearings and using the uneven terrain to her advantage.

In the not-so-distance she could hear the sounds of outright war. Gunfire chattering, cannons hammering, the harsh hissing of missiles flying accompanied by the kracks of warheads detonating. Grenades thumping and whooshing while artillery thundered. Soldiers yelling, wounded screaming.

The comfortingly familiar cacophany of war.

She took a moment to let that settle her nerves, then got moving. Sticking to riverbeds and mid-slope on assorted hills, she jogged a meandering but quick path to her target while keeping every sense she had open and sharp.

She'd made it about a klick when she saw a streak of light and smoke lance down from the sky. She cursed and threw herself into the muddy water of the river she was in a split-second ahead of a shockwave trying to blast her off her feet. Several nearby methane cattle burst and she grunted, then jumped to her feet and started running. The last thing she needed was to be sitting ground zero for a cloud of mildly corrosive toxic gas the size of a city block.

A few more minutes of jogging got her in visual range of the marine field base and she slowed, then lay down next to a tree in a bush and got out her field optics unit for a quick look. A minute later she cursed. No survivors. The place had been hit by orbit to surface fire. Capitol scale, so either the enemy ship batteries or nailguns. The Geth didn't seem to have setup any satellites however, so that meant ship batteries.

She said a silent prayer they went to whatever greater powers they believed in, if they believed in any, and then got up to leave. She made it about a hundred meters before she paused at the sound of someone swearing.

Her instincts, buzzing ever since getting the message from Anderson, sharpened. Now a hornet's snarl, she aimed herself at the sound and tracked the source. It took her a minute, but when she spotted it her entiure world stopped like someone had hit pause on the reality remote.

A woman. Beautiful, a bit short, raven black hair down past her shoulders, pale skin, and the kind of body most people required a lot of surgery to attain crammed into an armored skinsuit. From how she moved she was a professional soldier, and if her cursing was any indication she'd been some _very_ interesting places.

Currently the woman was bandaging what looked to be a through-and-through gunshot wound to the side with one hand while keeping an eye, and a heavily modified Executioner pistol, sweeping the local area.

 _Definitely_ a pro then. Rookies tended to focus on fixing their wounds, not making sure they didn't get more.

She marked the lady's position on her map and was about to leave when a wind change gusted the lady's scent into her sinuses. She froze, heartrate tripling and eyes narrowing as her mind processed what it meant. After a moment of that and her instincts screaming "FRIENDLY!" she pulled out a tube of medi-gel and tossed it to the brunette's feet. The gun was aimed straight between her eyes before the armored vial made it halfway.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" The voice was smooth and accented.

"Lt. Commander Shepard, N7 special operation on S&R duty, AKA Hellion program survivor DST-214B, batch 3. You?"

She almost missed the pause that followed. "... Jenna Jameson, freelance network troubleshooter on contract to the local government."

She shook her head. "Your scent's too sharp to be human and your irises are irridescent. Try again."

The woman's expression, already foul, soured. "Miranda Lawson, Aphrodite program alpha model. Why're you helping me? What're you after?"

"You're a genie, I'm a genie. Only reason I need as long as you weren't involved in this."

"I'd never attack children!"

She nodded and lowered her rifle slightly. "I know."

"How?" The woman asked, suspicion clear on her face.

"Your eyes aren't cruel, just hard."

"... Wonderful. I'm being rescued by a bloody carnie."

"Look, I won't ask why you're here. Less I know the better for both of us most likely, so I'll simply make you an offer. You play sage local and cover my 6, I guarantee you an express ride off this rock, and _not_ in someone's brig."

"Deal."

She nodded and waited a minute for the medi-gel to be applied, then said "Mission's simple, classified, and high priority. Locate a Prothean beacon that was discovered here a couple weeks ago and secure it for transport. Know anything about it?"

"Other than the fact the sudden militarization of the colony suddenly makes a nasty kind of sense, no."

She could sense both truth and lie in that, but the lie didn't strike her as a hazadous one so she decided to let it slide. For now. "I'm meeting a Specter, a Turian named Nihlus, north of here. Anything we need to worry about?"

"Nothing I know of. Last Geth I saw was a couple klicks back. It shot me, I faked being dead, and once it was gone I headed here hoping for salvage."

"What can you tell me about the Geth?"

"Armored, fast, strong, accurate. Use phasic AP rounds pretty much exclusively, but not real bright and their sensor acuity's shit if they're not looking right at you. Hardened against hack attacks, but vulnerable to electrical arc surges and biotics."

She nodded, thought a moment, then asked "You still have EWar capability?"

"Yeah, why?"

"If we get into a fight, use overloads, biotics, whatever, to funnel the Geth towards me, but you otherwise hang back and play it safe."

"Sod off! I'm not some delicate little... "

She waved the woman's protest off before it got to be too enthusiastic to override. "I'm not saying you are, I'm trying to protect a fellow, and may I remind you _injured_ , genie."

"Genie? Ugh, if you even think about trying to rub me the only wish you're going to be making is for the ability to eat solid food."

She blinked, snorted, and said "Not even gonna go there. You good?"

"Yeah. Which way?"

She used eye movements and blinks to work the display in her helmet, then pointed. "That direction about 500 meters. Go silent from here on in. Hand signals only."

That earned her a nod and a thumb's up.

She returned both, then used military shorthand to 'say' _10 meter spread, fast walk_ That done she resumed moving, kicking her pace up slightly to make up for lost time.

They'd made it another klick without incident when she heard the sound of gunfire northwest of their position. Unfortunately, that put it right in ther path, meaning the only way to avoid the fight was to make a massive detour. One they couldn't afford.

She held up a hand and started signing. _Weapons fire, that direction, 200 meters approximate. Investigating._ The brunette nodded and she sped up, mentally sorting the sounds out. Unitendtified weapons, sounded like high powered plas-rail battle rifles from the hissing TAKTAKTAKTAK noises they made, and one, louder and more thumpy BAMBAMBAMBAM from what appeared to be a modified Mattock. There weren't any zap, pop, or hiss sounds so neither side was using infantry electronics warfare techniques.

More motions. _Take cover there, wait for my go then open fire._ Miranda nodded, then dashed and ducked into position. A few seconds later she saw a woman, eurspanic, wearing badly damaged nonstandard armor, sprint around a tent then dive/skid behind a pile of crates. Weapons fire chased her all the way there then started taking big chunks out of it at high speed. Without missing a beat the lady yanked out a worn-to-the-frame ammo block, blew hard into the mag well to clear it, then slapped in a new block and checked her charge, all in about 3 seconds flat.

She readied her shotgun then waited for a Geth to fully emerge into her line of fire before pulling the trigger. The gun thundered in her hands, blasting out a swarm of acidic flechettes that punched clear through her target's chest in a riot of sparks. Only a fraction of a second later a loud KAK sounded amid the telltale flash and ozone rasp of an electrical arc attack. Two more stumbled, their systems jittering under the surge.

Pinned in place, the remaining two mechs didn't stand a chance. Another round from her 12-guage and a fast 5-round salvo from the trooper put the remaining two mechs down in moments, instantly followed by the marine leveling her rifle right at Miranda.

"Not that I'm not real appreciative of the help, but who in god's name're you two?"

"Shepard, N7." She replied, then nodding at her cohort added "Jameson, freelance security incidental on sage local duty. ID and report."

"Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams ma'am. Marine unit 212 operating off the SSV Wildfire. We were on city patrol in a salve when the initial attack hit. One unit member killed instantly, the rest on the way here. I was gonna blow the beacon and then head to get to the ship to see if I could call for help."

"It's here. You combat effective?"

The woman's head bobbed. "OOrah ma'am. Locked cocked and ready to rock."

"Good. Stores?"

"Final block on my rifle, 2 for my DMR, 3 for my sidearm. No grenades or specials."

She nodded, thought a moment, then asked "The beacon here?"

"No ma'am. It was moved. Recently, if I'm tracking right. From the direction I'd say they hit the tramway headed to the starport."

She grimaced, then used more eye movements to pull up her helmets com link to Nihlus. "Zero two to zero one. Target negative my location. Repeat, target negative my location. It appears to be heading your way."

A moment later his voice, fuzzy from static and encryption-induced audio degredation, replied "Zero one confirms. Reroute point five."

"Zero two confirms. Incoming with two local assets. ETA... " She pondered a moment, then said "10 minutes."

"Zero one confirms."

She closed the com channel, then used her omni to project a map on the ground. "We're here, we're headed here. Either of you unable to make that distance in eight minutes?" Miranda of course shrugged, it was likely nothng special to her, but the human winced. "I can do it, but I'll need a moment to catch my breath after."

She turned the map off, stating. "No problem. Let's get moving." With that she stood, got herself aimed the right direction, and started jogging.

-/^\\- -/^\\-

Notes and acronyms!

Sorry for getting this out so late in the month. Issues I won't go into that will, if all goes as is being desperately prayed for, cease to be a problem. In fact if things go as planned, I might, theoretically mind you, be able to resume work on my Kigo fic soon as well. But that's vegas odds so don't hold your breath.

Also, I have already figured out a few planned romances/pairings for the various members of the Normandy, and some are things I don't think anyone's ever actually done before. They'll make sense however, I promise.

Shepard's weapons!

A semi-auto 12 guage shotgun that's got a lot in common with a SPAS-12 crossbred with a UTAS

Dual .500 magnum revolvers that're essentially modernized crosbreeds of a S&W 500, S&W Schofield, and a Mateba. Three shots per instead of five to keep the size down a bit, but you can reload by swapping cylinders so they're pretty quick to reload. Kick like mules too, but I'd like to see some plastic and low bid alloy stand up to a 700 grain slug putting out 2,200+ foot-lbs of impact force.

Laserei blade

Vibro-knife

Omni loaded with various infantry electronics warfare apps

Shepard's armor is heavily based off Terran Ghost armor from Starcraft, but less gimmicky and more realistic. Think the torso, helmet, gauntlets, and boots from the Blood Dragon DLC armor, with everything else being simple armor fabric instead of plating. High speed, high maneuverability, lightweight, fully atmo sealed, and lacks any form of 'assistive' tech like strength enhancers or aim assistance.

Decon/Decode - Virus scanning and decoding incoming transmissions to make sure they haven't been overheard, hacked, or turned into covert digital attacks.

LEP - Light Emitting Polymer. Essentially paper-thin flexible screen display sheeting, you probably have an example in easy reach. Many, if not most, modern smartphones use LEP screens. Mercedes, as a publicity stunt, used a car of theirs covered in LEP to visually cloak it. Worked pretty well too. Same idea here, just without the leather bucket seats. (The Normandy SR2 on the other hand... )

UAV - Unmanned Arial Vehicle. Either an autonomous airplane or castrated former male with a jetpack

'Hard' artillery - Weapons firing solid projectiles such as slugs, shells, or guided nonpowered warheads.

DMEN - Dark Matter Enhanced Nuke. An augmented nuclear warhead with enough power to vaporize a city or even, possibly (Though probably not) scorch Chuck Noriss's beard. Maybe.

OTS - Orbit-to-Surface.

OIIA - Orbital Insertion/Infiltration Armor, think ODST troopers in semi-stealthy war machine man armor piloted by experts in guerilla warfare and macho man randy savage.

Next episode, we finally get to see Shepard fight, we make our first major AU plot change, and Ash proves to know a lot about... Ash


	6. Chapter 6

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 06

Holding up a fist, she signalled her squadmates to stop and hold position. They did and Williams, who to her surprise had actually managed to keep pace, knelt where she was and started taking long, slow, deep breaths. It was the kind of 'stop and be smart' move only someone with a lot of training and even more experience would bother to think of, much less have the self control to pull off.

Impressive. For a human.

Motioning the woman over she whispered "What're those buildings? They're not on the colony map."

"Improvised offices for the eggheads ma'am. They couldn't work on-base, too noisy, so they co-opted some old prefabs."

"Guards?"

"The 211 ma'am, under Sergeant Irons."

She frowned. Something was off. There were signs of fighting but no bodies. She tapped the side of her helmet and the faceplate popped out, then flipped up. Taking a few seconds to sniff at the air, she shook her head. "They're dead." Tapping her helmet again, she re-sealed it and took a whiff of the clean stuff from her armor's lifepack.

"Ma'am?"

"I'm a freak with a sense of smell keener than most dogs Williams, and all I got just now was meat rot, broken tech, and blood."

"Wha?! How?"

"Don't ask, you really don't wanna know." She replied tiredly.

"Shepard... " She looked to Miranda, who had a hesitant, oddly sad look on her face. She sighed, shook her head, and said "I know, sorry." Refocusing, she said "Sweep and clear. You see bodies, mark positions and known or suspected ID's on your maps for later retrieval."

They'd cleared the buildings, picking up medi-gel and ammo for Williams in the process, when she spotted something ahead. Metallic, but not a color or sheen she recognized. Motioning for people to stop and take cover she waited until everyone was secure to whisper "12.5 O'clock, 60 meters. ID?"

"Nothing I recognize."

"Not a bloody clue, but I've got the proverbial bad feeling Shepard."

"Same here. Jenna, suppression. Williams, strays."

Both women shot her a silent thumb's up and she scuttled forward, low and fast, cover to cover. Once she topped a small rise she looked down and spotted what looked to be dessicated cyborg corpses impaled on spikes.

A quick visual scan didn't show any IED's or traps so she motioned her squad forward and asked "Ideas?"

Neither had any, though Williams was disturbed more than slightly by it. Since nothing seemed to be dangerous however, just extremely odd, she stood and motioned them forward. They were riding the edge of their schedule as it was and any further delays would mean Nihlus would be left swinging in the breeze.

-^V^- -^V^-

Nihlus looked around at the scattered bodies and frowned. Something about the situation was unnervingly familiar. What that was or why he couldn't tell, only that it had him on edge.

He had to admit, the candidate wasn't what he'd expected. She had a reputation as disobedient, surly, easily provoked, favored mass killing to any form of subtlety. So far she'd been unhappy but balked at nothing save protecting those in need. When he'd poked her ego to see if she was as triggerable as he'd heard she'd simply scowled and made an acidic, not to mention completely understandable, comment. Then, to top it off, where he'd expected to drop her into a war zone and have her go berserk she'd not only _not_ blood raged, she'd gone about rescuing people and still somehow managed to stay on schedule.

As prospects went he'd seen far worse.

He heard a boot on gravel ahead and peeked around a corner, then suppressed a snort. Saren, strolling down the street as if he were on the Presidium, not in an active war zone. Typical, and in anyone else he would've called it pure ego. Unfortunately for anyone stupid enough to test the man he was just that ancestors-blessed good.

He popped out of cover and called out "Saren! Spirits but it's good to see a friendly face."

"Nihlus." The man replied, stopping and turning to look at him. His cane thumped the ground and, ever formal, the steel-colored Turian stood at that odd parade rest stance of his.

"No problems I take it?" he inquired.

"Nothing I couldn't easily handle. Why are you here?"

"The humans discovered a beacon. I'm here with a specter candidate for pickup but as you can see things are not going according to plan. You?"

"Tracking a dangerous piece of rogue technology some fool lost. If it gets into the wrong hands, the damage that could be done makes all of this," The man stated ominously while motioning to the general area, "Look like a nest squabble."

"Shit."

"Exactly. Wait... squad incoming. Take a cover position there. I'll herd them into your line of fire."

Without thinking he nodded and jogged into position. There was sound, light, heat, pain, and then a darkness that swallowed everything.

-^V^- -^V^-

Saren sighed. "I'm sorry old friend. You sould never have been here."

Keying up the right sequence on his omni, he triggered an auto-purge on his foe's armor then took a moment and offered a quick prayer to the ancestors for forgiveness. While he had to do what he was doing if his people were to have a chance at surviving the coming storm, that didn't mean he liked it, or didn't feel guilt over... distasteful actions.

A Geth Prime approached and stated "The beacon has been connected to the city power grid. Orders?"

"Guard the area while I drain it's knowledge, then set and activate the nukes. I want us out of here in 10 minutes."

"Compliance."

While the why's of it were hellish, he had to admit having the unquestioning loyalty of a few hundred thousand semi-sentient war-mechs was... gratifying.

He sighed, then shook his head and started jogging for the starport. All that was left now was to empty the beacon of anything useful, destroy it and the evidence, then make good his exit. All of it easily accomplished, assuming that creepy T'Soni woman's meditative techiques kept his brain from exploding.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard had faced a lot in her life. Every sentient species alive. Animals and plants of all kinds. Bioweapons, mad science, the untamed fury of the elements.

Zombies though?

 _That_ was new.

Thankfully Williams proved to be an expert on the topic. Thanks to the woman's advice none of them had been so much as scratched, much less injured.

"Good work Gunny."

"No problem ma'am. General rules of dealing with the undead. Always aim for the head. Failing that, cut off their limbs and run. Fire's your best friend, grenades come a close second, and don't ever let your squad out of your sight."

"You've faced these things before?" She inquired.

"God no! Just watched a ton of zombie movies."

"Of all the... do you mean you just staked our lives on... ?! Ugh! Don't answer that."

"Good, bad, I'm the girl with the gun." The woman snarked, grinning tiredly and hefting her modified mattock.

"Git."

Ignoring Miranda's muttered insult/curse, she checked her map and said "Starport's that way, correct gunny?"

"Just past that ridge ma... what was that"

The sound of a not so distant gunshot, a single report like lightning hitting a tree as it was used to bust down a steel door, bounced between the nearby hills for a moment before fading. She frowned, then snarled as her omni chimed with a medical alert for Nihlus. A quick check and she motioned her unit forward while getting on the com. "Zero two to Apex! Zero one down!"

"Report!" Anderson's voice demanded instantly.

She gave him what little she knew and he said "Assess and render first aid, then resume mission. Squad 2's already en route. Keep me posted, Apex out."

"How can you two run so damn fast?!" Williams gasped out, obviously straining to keep up.

"Classified Gunny, and you'd be happier not knowing."

A minute later she spotted Nihlus's body ahead laying still in a pool of purple blood. She stopped, did a quick asssessment of the area, then led her unit over. As they approached she said "Secure the area while I render aid."

They stood guard and she quickly checked the Turian's injuries. One gunshot wound to the back of the head. Diffusion and speckle-charring indicated an incendiary round that'd busted through the man's shields, dropping the power from 'Turn your head into a canoe' to 'sledge hammer to the skull'. Dangerous, potentially lethal, but with proper treatment it'd be survivable. She slathered the cratered wound in medi-gel, nailed him with a syrette of Turian-specific anti-trauma drugs, then set it on his chest armor so the incoming medics would see what she'd hit him with.

She was looking at a map trying to figure out their next move when Miranda hauled a terrified colonist out from behind a stack of crates. The man pissed himself and she sighed, then said "Jenna, at ease. Williams, ID."

A quick scan and the sergeant said "Jovial Gillard Moore. No blips, supposedly on shift here moving freight when the attack came."

"I was!"

"Did you see who shot the Turian?" She inquired pointedly.

"Soldier guy! Flapface like him! Grey skin, plates, scales, whatever you call it. Your buddy here saw him, greeted the bastard like an old friend, called him Saren. Then the grey guy tricked him, shot him in the back of the head, zapped his armor with his omni, and fucking apologized. Then one of those evil mech things showed up, said something about a beacon, and they all got the fuck outta dodge."

"That makes no bloody sense."

"It's true! Swear! Sides, it aint like I got a damn reason to lie."

Between the fact he was so jittery, had bloodshot eyes, and was alternating between belligerant and cowardly she figured he was dusted on something. He was right though. He had no concievable reason to lie, assuming he wasn't a plant.

"How'd you survive?"

"I was taking a nap behind the crates when the attack hit. Big party at my buddy Travis's place last night. Dragged through about half my shift and finally just crashed where the supe's wouldn't find me. Next thing I know the place's a war zone!"

She frowned, then nodded. "Back under those crates. If it ain't human or me you don't exist. Got it?"

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" He replied, frentically racing back to where he'd been.

Once he was behind cover she turned to Williams and asked "Fastest way to the starport?"

"That road leads straight to it ma'am." The woman replied, pointing to a nearby cross street.

"Let's get moving then." Suiting actions to words, she started jogging where directed. They'd just made the turn when she spotted movement ahead. "CONTACT 12.5 by 120!" She snarled, diving behind someone's wrecked car just as a Geth squad opened fire. She heard the others doing the same, and called out "Injuries?"

"Nothing new ma'am!"

"Just bloody wonderful!"

She peeked over the car fast then said "Williams, get to that bar's roof and countersnipe! Jess, jam the fuckers! Cover fire for Williams on three... two... one... NOW!" She popped around a fender and opened fire with her shotgun on automatic. The thundering BOOMBOOMBOOOM of it hammered at her ears. She gave it a 5-count of cover fire, then ducked back into relative safety and said "Both of you stay the fuck back and out of my goddamn way."

"What in the the bloody hell do you think you're going to do?!"

"I'm gonna kill 'em all." She replied, tossing the woman her gun and detaching her lasaeri blade. She took a second to power it up, then used a push/pull combo to launch herself at the enemy with a gleeful roar.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda lawson watched in shock as her extremely odd savior used some form of biotics to fire herself at the enemy. One moment the woman was crouched behind cover, sword in hand, the next the woman dissappeared in a flicker of motion so fast she barely caught a blur. Then the commander was there and the Geth, apparently unprepared for CQB, were outright anihilated.

Sword flashes, biotically augmented punches, kicks, and at least three headbutts that crumpled, crushed, tore, rent, and outright shredded anything they hit. All at a speed she couldn't approach and with strength that far surpassed anything she was capable of, reduced the enemy unit to scrap metal in seconds.

Something in her squirmed at the sight ot it all. She was good. The best humanity not only would ever, but _could_ ever produce simply because of what she was. Shepard was... better. It was an admission she made neither easily or happily, but it was also somehow oddly relieving. Liberating, in a way. She didn't need to worry about being the 'Apex human' anymore. The position was more than obviously already taken.

"CLEAR!"

She blinked when the woman called out the area wasn't an active combat zone any more and ran over to her to demand answers before the marine could overhear anything.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!" She hissed as she stopped.

"That I could handle them and not risk you."

"I don't need coddling!"

The woman turned to face her and tapped her helmet, revealing golden eyes and a sad smile. "I wish I'd led your life. People protecting me so much it makes me mad... I can't even process the concept."

Horrified that anyone would want her life, much less have led one so horrible it'd make hers preferable to their own, pulled a pained "What did they do to you?" from her lips before she could stop herself.

Before the woman could anwer she heard the marine approaching and Shepard's faceplate clicked back into place. "Gunny, good of you to join us."

"Sorry ma'am, some people can't outrace a Cheetah."

She shot Shepard a 'This conversation isn't over' look, then suggested "We should probably move. The Geth will be converging here shortly."

"Agreed. You two, stay behind me and if I start snarling at things, back the fuck off. I won't be able to tell friend from foe."

"War drugs ma'am?" The gunny inquired, blatantly scowling at the thought of using such a crutch.

"Blood Rage, actually."

She blinked, then realized what Shepard had to be. She wasn't a superior _human_ , she was some kind of _chimera_. The woman's actions took on a whole other meaning and she couldn't help a wince. Shepard wasn't pretending to being a knight in shining armor, she was trying to keep people from being forced to live through what she had. Considering the woman's abilities, and what bloodlines had to be raging through her right now like the proverbial bull in the china shop, it wasn't hard to see how dedicated Shepard was to keeping her... safe. The entire idea was a concept she still wasn't sure she could process.

"Problem Jess?"

She looked up at the super-soldier's growled question and said the only thing she could. "Thank you."

From the pause in her protector's manner the meaning made it through loud and clear. "Um, you're welcome? I think?"

"Do you two need a moment?"

She sighed, the moment of... something... broken by the marine's infuriatingly unwelcome interruption. "We should go. Which way to the starport?"

"That way ma'am. Just over 4 klicks."

"You two're on lag. Stay the fuck out of my way."

The snarled comment should've pissed her off but she could hear the pain in the woman's tone and simply nodded. "We'll make sure you're not flanked."

"Why not just blast 'em all like you did on Torfan ma'am?"

The commander froze, then growled "Forcing my biotics farther than a meter away from me triggers blood pressure spikes. The more power, the higher the pressure. The farther, the higher the pressure. Torfan? Eight hundred and sixty two anyurisms of varying power. Seven heart attacks. Extended arrhythmia. Mass hemmoraging."

"How did that not that kill you?!"

Seeing the faint trembling in the commander's hands, the rage, the bloodlust, the need to kill in her posture, she did the only thing she could. She said "Go."

The woman all but threw the majority of her extremely odd gear into her arms without a word. Guns, grenades, gear harness, everything but her odd sword while the marine watched in confusion. Then Shepard literally immolated herself in warp fire so strong the ground under her feet was liquified and vanished in a flicker of motion so fast even she had trouble tracking it.

A moment later, the war for Eden prime turned into a _slaughter_.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard looked around as she regained her wits. Dozens of mechs lay scattered about in pieces, smoke from fires and chem spills wafted through the air. Pain lanced through her side, both legs, and an arm while her lungs burned as they desperately worked to get as much oxy into her blood as possible. Her vision was tinged red from burst cappilaries in her eyes, and noticing that kicked her into search and assess mode. A quick self check later she grunted.

One bullet graze to the right leg, through and throughs to her left, right arm, and right hip. Medium strength burns to the majority of her left side, and her armor was a write off. Again.

Crissy's gonna kill me. She mentally grumbled. She heard movement and turned, spotting Miranda and the human approaching. The genie looked somewhere between horrified and impressed. The squishy looked just plain scared.

For some reason looking at Lawson... she mentally shook her head. It wasn't desire, she was dead sure of that. She wasn't capable of that emotion, or any of it's idiotic contemporaries. It was something else. Something she couldn't process and wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Report." She stated as they approached.

"You, uh, kinda killed 'em all. Ma'am."

"While you buggered the enemy's plans the sergeant and I defused several nukes as well as eliminated a squad of Geth attempting to flank you. Apparently while the attack itself has been incredibly public, it's goals were intended to remain a mystery."

"Injuries?"

"We're fine. You however look as if you could use some medi-gel and a good doctor."

She waved it off. "I'll be fine with a side of ribs and a day's rest. Besides, I don't do doctors."

"Will you at least let me bandage your wounds?"

She started to say no, then grimaced and grumbled "Fine. Williams, recon the area. If you see anything of interest call it out. If you spot the beacon pop a flare and keep your distance. They supposedly fuck with your head the moment you get close to 'em."

"Aye ma'am." The woman saluted, her manner crisp and professional once again now that she had specific orders to follow. Miranda motioned her to a nearby Geth wreck, got her seated on it, and said "Thank you."

She blinked. "What for?"

"Saving my life. Without you I'd likely have wound up dead."

"Oh. Uh, you're welcome."

"How do you plan on getting me offworld?"

"Easy. I'm an N7 and a spectre candidate. I say, it happens. The only person in my immediate command chain that can overrule me's Anderson and he won't. He's decent."

"David Anderson?"

"Youve heard of him?"

"Of course."

"My commanding officer, and one of the very few people I don't want to gut on sight. Which, when you've been trained to gut _everyone_ on sight is saying something."

"Me?"

"Don't worry. You're not on the future violin strings list either."

"Not that I'm upset but why? You don't know me."

"I... don't know. You're just not."

The hands taping a medi-gel pressure bandage to her leg paused. "You're not going to try and bed me are you?"

She snorted. "No."

"I'm not... attractive then?"

She frowned. One moment the woman sounded pissed off at someone trying to trade safety for sex, the next she sounded hurt at the prospect she wasn't being viewed as a potential toy. "I don't 'bed' anyone. Ever."

"Oh. Did your trainer... force you?"

"The entire guard contingent celebrated my first period by gang raping me. After that sometimes it'd just be one, sometimes it'd be a whole goddamn platoon. They did it to me, they did it to my sisters, and not all of us survived it. Kinda turned me off the entire sex thing."

"Oh. My father... I was a... toy. He had trainers... "

She winced. It was one thing for guards to nail you. They were disconnected, impersonal, driven by nothing but lust. To have it be a parent...

She hesitantly set a hand on Lawson's and said "I'm sorry."

Miranda looked up at her, confused and eyes suspiciously bright. "Why would you apologize? You didn't have anything to do with it."

"I wasn't there."

The woman managed a weak smile. "Unless you're twice as old as you look I'd imagine you were worse off than I was at the time." After a moment the woman stood and offered her a hand up. "Still, the thought... counts."

She accepted the hand, rose to her feet, and said "Thanks for not being afraid of me. Most people run screaming the moment I get going."

"Oh yes, let's all run from the hideously lethal woman that's trying to protect us. Best. Strategy. Ever." the brunette deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

She chuckled and was about to reply when she saw the flare fly high from behind a nearby warehouse. "C'mon."

She led Miranda there, then spotted the beacon sitting on a freight pallet smack dab in the middle of a landing pad. A quick walkaround later she radio'd up to the Normandy and said "Zero two to apex. Target located, my position, condition green."

"Good work zero two. Apex closing on your location for pickup."

"How're things local?"

"Worrying. A few minutes ago the remaining geth forces just fell over and started self destructing. A ship might've escaped but we never got a visual and our sensors were so fouled we never got more than a ghost image. The moment the fighting stopped I routed the OIIA's to your position and the MAKO to start setting up a triage center. How're your locals?"

"Light injuries but nothing a hot meal wouldn't fix. Oh, and you can thank them for the nukes we ran across not blowing us all up."

"One's a gunny Williams, I believe?"

"Aye sir."

"Opinion?"

"Kinda surprised she's not in black white and red."

"The Williams family has a bad rep. Her grandfather was the commanding general on Shanxi."

"Yeah, so?"

The man sighed. "Sometimes people blame a man's family for his supposed failings."

"Wait, you mean they're giving her shit for her grandfather trying to save people's lives?"

"Pretty much."

That was just... wrong. "Sir, if we've got any spots open I'm recommending we bring her along. She's solid on a trigger and doesn't run the moment I go krogan. Be fucking stupid to waste talent like that on people being dumbasses."

"Hah! I'll see what I can manage then. What about the other? Jessica Jameson?"

"Clay."

A moment of silence. "Shit. Okay, I'll handle things on my end. She need anything in particular?"

"Safe, discrete, and bullshit-free passage to safety."

"In that case I hope she likes the Citadel because we're headed there once we're done here. The council's demanding we come in for debrief. Someone leaked a few things they weren't supposed to and the they're demanding a detailed sitrep as soon as possible."

"Oh wonderful. Nihlus?"

"Chakwas just got him into M-Rec. Past that it's up to her, luck, and the universe. Since the fighting's died down I'm detailing the OIIA's to help secure the beacon. Keep me updated, Apex out."

She cut the link and called out "OIIA's incoming! Williams, overwatch! Jess, park ass over there. Armor units ain't right in the head so the less they need to deal with you the easier it'll be on everyone."

"What about your gear?"

"Set it next to you in a pile." She replied, making her way over to a nearby control pedestal. "It's all security chipped for distance from the user so it's not much more than paperweights and clubs until I get it back to my quarters and re-initialize it all."

"Paranoid much ma'am?"

She snorted as she powered up the cargo pallet the beacon was on. "It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you gunny."

"Good point. So, uh, why're you so leery of the Oh Yeah's ma'am? If it's not classified or something."

"The human body can't normally handle the G-forces and impacts armor combat hits it with. Fuck, most Krogan can't handle that shit, hence why humans and Turians are the only races fielding the things. Turians, they get by with heavy cybernetic upgrades, genetic mods, limited engagement times. Humanity just does what it always does. Pump people full of chems. Non-newtonian materials transfusions, five times the legal limit in otherwise illegal drugs, gene mods, and some cybertech."

"Fuckin A." The woman muttered, disturbed by the implications.

"Exactly. All that shit? It fucks with armor pilots heads. Makes 'em act like they're fulla red sand and booze. Cuts a huge chunk off their projected lifespan too, and renders 'em sterile as a topper. Result? Humans that can go longer, harder, and faster than Turians in the same suits but each one's a dead man walking with a skull fulla fuck you."

"Just bloody wonderful." Miranda groused.

She nodded and Williams spat "Screw that noise! I'd always wondered if I could get into the armor drop program but if that's the shit they gotta deal with I'm happy I never managed it."

She sighed and shook her head. "The only reason you aren't there or in the N program's your last name gunny. If you were anyone else you'd have been scouted for special ops a long damn time ago."

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that ma'am." The woman grumbled bitterly.

"Lucky you I judge people by what they do, not what their last name is. Consider yourself transferred."

"Ma'am?!"

"I don't waste talent Williams, and I don't give two varren shits who your grandaddy was or how supposedly cowardly he was. You're wasted playing colony grunt and I'd bet my nonexistant paycheck we're gonna have a spot or three open on the duty roster so unless things go totally sideways consider yourself reposted to the Normandy."

"Yes ma'am! Thank you ma'am!"

"Just fixing something that shouldn't have needed fixing gunny."

"How do you... nevermind."

She looked to Miranda, saw the confused look on her face, and shrugged. If the woman wanted an answer she'd finish the question. If she didn't, she wouldn't and it was none of her business. Either way, she had bigger problems to deal with.

Both OIIA units, looking like someone had taken a bodybuilder the size of a basketball player, built a set of high tech full plate around them, then loaded it down with weapons, hit the ground in front of her with metallic crunch/thud sounds and instantly swept the area for hostiles.

A moment later one walked off to the side, weapons pointed vaguely in Miranda's direction while the other stomped over and looked down at her. "Shepard. Who're the sponges?"

"The marine's a survivor from the SSV Wildfire. The civvie's not your concern."

"Marks, secure 'em."

"Belay that!" She snapped. "They're my problem, not yours."

"They're not cleared... " He started, before falling silent when she verbally bulldozed his ass. "They're whatever the fuck I say they are sardine, and I say they're _not. Your. Problem_."

"Fine, whatever. Yo, Marks! Police that pile of cheap-ass kit by the civvie while I make sure our test tube baby here didn't fuck everything up pretending she's half as good as a real man."

"Dude, she _nuked a space station with her mind_. Try and piss her off a bit less. As in never."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

Her eyes narrowed but she didn't bother to retort. Racism was outright illegal so once everyone's black box recordings got into command's hands his career was deader than Pompeii. Especially considering his CO was Anderson. A black man with a multi-ethnic background, a white wife, and from one of the most racially and economically divided cities on Earth? Yeah, he tolerated that shit about as well as a water baloon handled planetary re-entry.

Focusing on her job, a few eye movements and blinks brought up the command channel to Alenko. "Zero two to mom. Target secured, need to arrange pickup."

"Mom to Zero two, confirm green on target. Apex is routing arrowhead to your position in 10 mikes. Best approach?"

"Come in from the north, then pull a 180 and back up to the bay. I can extend a ramp and you should be able to winch the sucker aboard pretty easy."

"Perfect. I'll let nav know so he can plot it out. Anything else?"

She started to reply, then spotted the asshole OIIA trying to hack the OS on one of her guns. "Just a sec, one of the OIIA's is fucking with my kit." She muted her mic, then called out "Hey sardine! Stop screwing with my gear!"

"It's unregistered and illegal tech!" He countered angrily.

"The hell are you talking about?" She asked, wondering just how pickled his brain had to be to forget to run her gear through an ident app.

"I don't know what the fuck it is and it's refusing to accept lockdown commands!" He retorted.

She opened her mouth to tell him it was already locked down when he got tired of doing things the smart way and zapped it with an electrical arc and the

the universe

broke.

An explosion.

Muzzle flash.

Miranda, blood flying.

The idiot, reacting on instinct. Weapons being aimed at her and Lawson.

Movement, everything swallowed in a blue blur.

Impact. Things shattering.

Grabbing Miranda. Eyes glazing. Shaking. Shock.

Intestines glistening in the morning air.

Choking on blood as a punctured lung collapsed.

Dying.

 _ **TAKE THE PAIN**_

 _ **PROTECT**_

 _ **SAVE**_

-^V^- -^V^-

The first sign she had anything was wrong was the gunfire. The distinctive thunderous BOOM of Shepard's odd shotgun. The next thing she knew there was a scream, a streak of blue light, a crunch/splat, and begging. A woman she'd seen ripping apart Geth like toys on her knees, covered in blood, desperately pleading with the civvie to stay with her.

She had her Viper leveled at the other OIIA before she could remember moving and was yelling "GUNS ON THE GROUND!" by the time her brain caught up to the rest of her. With a high powered anti-material rifle leveled right between his eyes he did the smart thing and ejected the pods holding what was left of his weapons payload.

She switched to her Mattock and ran over to Shepard without losing her bead on the guys face. Whoever, _whatever_ Shepard was, the woman had saved her life. Not only that the commander was yanking her off a shit posting to what sounded like the kind of op that could make, or in her case un-fuck, a career.

Others might blow that shit off but a Williams took that kinda thing personal.

Seeing Shepard was in no condition to call for medivac, even if it looked pointless, she got on the com, multiband with no encryption, and said "This is Gunny Williams of the 212 to local SA command! We need a red bird here NOW! One of the OIIA's accidentally shot Jameson with zero two's shotgun!"

A voice she recognized only from vids replied instantly. "Report!"

She started to, then fell silent when blue fire so intense it damn near qualified as plasma enveloped the commander and the civvie. Power, so much of it, so concentrated, that standing 5 meters away it felt like every neuron in her body was licking a battery. She squinted against the sudden light and couldn't help staring at the sight before her.

Jameson, a massive gut wound literally overflowing with blood and glistening intestines. Gurgling sounds from a punctured lung, and blood black from at least one kidney being pureed cascading to the ground. A woman that should've been incoherent from mind-breaking amounts of pain somehow clear-headed enough to raise a trembling hand to Shepard's helmeted face. Tears, a whispered gurgled thank you, and an apology.

Ruptured intestines pulling themselves back in place, re-sealing, and the flow of blood slowing to nothing. The acrid smell of burned meat, wounds sealing themselves, blood hardening into a massive scab. The commander's armor seeming to go loose as if the woman were starving to death before her eyes.

What should've been a horrific death turned into... she had no idea what it was.

Holy, maybe.

"Sir, I have no idea what's going on, but the commander's somehow healing the civvie. Looks to be killing herself in the process though, so I _really_ suggest you haul ass sir. There's no way on god's green earth, or anywhere else, either of 'em are gonna last much longer."

"Already en route gunny. ETA... " There was a moment of muted sound, then "300 seconds. Nobody dies on my watch."

"If you don't mind sir, Ill be asking for a little divine intervention on the side. No offense."

"None taken. We could probably use it." The link went dead and she said "You just need to hold on for a few minutes commander. Normandy's on it's way." She grimaced, then dropped to a knee, crossed herself, and whispered "God, I don't know if you're listening, but one of your best needs all the help you'd be willing to give her right about now."

Shepard sagged after several minutes, obviously drained from how her odd armor suddenly seemed loose on her, and staggered back. Looking around, confused, desperate, like a junkie that'd just OD'd and had no idea where they were or what was going on.

Then the woman stumbled into the beacon's field and was yanked into the air. There was sound, light, heat, and then nothing.

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and Acronyms!

Sitrep - Situational Report.

M-Rec - Medical Reconstruction, a fancy military sounding term for an operating room.

MoM - Master of Marines, the officer in charge of all non-naval forces. In this case, Kaiden Alenko, who's been overseeing the deployment and coordination of all ground forces other than Shepard and Nihlus.

Sponge - Slang for bullet sponge, it's an insult aimed at people thought to be clumsy, inept, stupid, or some combo of all three.

Belay that - Naval terminology for "Don't Do that!'' or "Ignore that order!"

Callsigns - Standard Alliance callsigns wuld be as follows

Apex - The commander in charge of the local theater of operations.

Zero (X) - Covert operations forces often use numbers instead of names to preserve people's identities in case their communications get spied on. Generally the numbers go from high (Higher number, higher ranking or importance) to low, though some go totally random.

Unit - Soldiers. Nothing special, nothing super, just plain old soldiers.

Asset - Allied non military personnel. Mercs, consultants, whatever's friendly and not wearing a uniform.

My 'buffing' of Ashely - Why did Shepard bring her along in-game? To replace Jenkins? A call to command from Anderson and there'd have been any number of better qualified people there to fill his spot on the team. N7, simple special forces, a hardened vet, whatever. Witness? Maybe, but afterwards she should've been stuck on medical leave to recover from the deaths of her entire squad or simply re-assigned to another colony. So, what I'm trying to do by making her more of a badass is give Shep and co a REASON to bring her along. Make Ash _worth_ the effort of bucking Alliance command and people's bullshit attitudes. And no, I'm not setting up a 3-way romance between Shep, Miranda, and Ash. I've got a whole other idea for Ashley's paramour, and it's one I don't think anyone's gonna see coming...

The lack of Manuel - While the incident with Manuel was hilarious, it really was only there to foreshadow the Reapers. Since it's fairly safe to assume that people reading Mass Effect Fanfic already know of the Reapers he's not needed. Besides, EVERYONE does the bit with Manuel and I'm trying to be different so no batshit crazy soothsayers and portents of doom.

Saren and his cane - In the original concept art for Saren they'd planned to have him dress more formally and carry a fancy cane. The idea got tossed out during development but I figure hey, it sounds cool so let's see what we can do with it.

Skipping the fight scenes - I want my Shepard to be ominous when it comes to fighting. I want people to see facing her about the same as they'd feel facing an approaching Tsunami. The problem is, by writing out the fights, it makes it WAAAAAAY too easy to turn my Shep into a demigod, and I'm already hitting that line as-is. Will I put in more detailed fights later? Yep, once I figure out how to write 'Biotic badass' instead of 'Biotic god'. Of course other people's fight scenes aren't as problematic so they'll be getting the full monty.

Miranda's reaction to Shepard - First, Miranda was literally made to seek out the most powerful human and then stick to 'em like glue, subservient to their every whim. That's literally built into her DNA. She knew from the start her father, who'd intended her to be as much of a sex toy as a successor, wasn't strong. Intelligent? Yes. Canny? Yes? Evolutionary apex of the human race? Not really. Shepard however, _is_ powerful, strong, smart, and most importantly, compassionate when she can be. Miranda's also lived her life knowing she's had a 10/10 fucked up existence. Then she meets Shepard and suddenly the meter goes to 20. Not only that, but despite everytyhing she knows HAD to have happened to turn Shepard into the bipedal apocalypse she is, Shepard STILL didn't break. She kept her ethics, and right now those ethics are the only real reason she's still alive. Then, to top it all off, Shepard isn't trying to get her into bed. That confuses her. It makes her feel lacking, yet relieved. Also, as a side note (Miranda doesn't know this yet) She's not the first of the Aprhodite series. She's just the first to survive. Her name, Miranda, comes from the fact she's the _12th_ attempt, hence M, hence Miranda. Oriana's the same, hence why she wasn't born until Miranda was old enough to rescue her.

Shepard's reaction to Miranda - First, Miranda's a Genie (Genetically engineered being) and Shepard swore to protect Genies. Second, The genetics program Shepard's from was co-developed alongside the Aphrodite Program, with the first being a government operation, and the second privately funded but both sharing resources/information. They have a lot in common and Shepard can sense that. Third, and related, while Shepard can't feel lust or desire, when she looks at Miranda her instincts and her body scream MATE and she goes into protective mate mode, hence part of how she was able to save Miranda's life. More on that Soon.TM

Benezia T'Soni and Saren - Unlike in the game and most fics, in mine they're not friends, lovers, or even frenemies. They're two people working for the same boss and they _don't_ like each other. Benezia thinks Saren's a blunt instrument. Simpleminded and thuggish. Meanwhile he finds her now-warped spirituality creepy as fuck and sees her as a manipulative slut with superpowers.

Lastly, the OIIA's - The one that shot Miranda wound up getting biotically charged, both because Shepard can't charge at a simple point in space and because he'd potentially killed Miranda. Normally Shepard couldnt do a biotic charge, her mind, soul, and powers are too erratic, too prone to surges. It should've killed her, but the absolute focus she had on Miranda made it possible. So, his condition? Take an empty can of soda. Pour runny salsa into it. Crush it. Get it? Got it? Good.

Next Chapter, Udina! Visions! Bondage!


	7. Chapter 7

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 07

Councillor Tevos was not a happy Asari.

Many would've looked at her and said she was haughty. Living a life consisting of little more than eating gourmet food, being wined and dined by the galaxy's elite hoping to buy their way into her good graces, and that her 'office hours' were both sparse and spent in luxury.

All of that was true, but it lacked a few crucial details.

She did eat gourmet food prepared by a personal chef. Why? Because she needed someone making her meals she could trust not to fill them with poison. Was she wined and dined on an hourly basis by the rich and powerful? Certainly. People rich and powerful enough they didn't take 'no' for an answer, almost all of whom she needed to say no to. Her office hours were also sparse, but the restaraunts she frequented, the 'political vacations' she took, the galas, dinners, and soirees? Wars, each and every one complete with bodycounts and mass suffering.

When she'd been offered the position of citadel councillor by the hundred queens she'd seen it as a massive opportunity. A huge boost to her budding political career after someone had glimpsed her true potential. Now that she'd been doing it for a few hundred years however, she saw it for what it was.

Punishment.

She had little to no actual power. Everything she did was subject to minute scrutiny. Her speeches were written for her, her schedule plotted by people she'd never met. Her quarters had been assigned to her like a soldier's bunk and she faced constant censure over her every deed and thought. She was even banned from casual melds, instead forced to go to the consort's whorehouse.

What she'd done to deserve such a fate she had no idea and the few people she'd asked seemed disinclined towards enlightenment. All she really knew for sure was that it seemed to be a life sentance. Considering how long she might live, barring assassination, whatever crime she'd unwittingly comitted must've been unprecedented.

"This is unacceptable!"

She sighed and looked towards Valern, the two of them having an early breakfast before the day's official start. She'd suspected the call had been anything but social and she'd been, unfortunately, doomed to being right.

"While I agree the Normandy's existance and capabilities could potentially shift the galactic balance of power there's nothing we can do about it. Ship-scale stealth isn't banned or even regulated, mostly because no one, including your people, had thought it possible until now. Contrasting that it's an officially declared state secret of both the Heirarchy and the SA. We not only have no standing to demand it's secrets, we'd be legally and ethically in the wrong if someone were to 'acccidentally' reveal what little we do know in some misguided attempt to force the issue."

The Salarian's eyes narrowed. "I never mentioned planning such. How would you know, I wonder?"

"You're predictable." She stated as she lifted her glass of t'kava fruit juice, saluted him with it, then drank.

"Impossible. Predictability is inevitably fatal. I am not dead, therefore I cannot be predictable."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Predictability makes you easily manipulated by those you represent. Trust me." She remarked bitterly. "I'd know."

"Preposterous! the Delatrass council stationed me here because I am the best for the job! Best able to protect my people and represent their interests!"

"Ah, the naviette of youth. I thought that too, once upon a time. Then I woke up. Like it or not, willingly or not, we're both pawns of those we serve Valern." The lights in the Citadel blinked on high, marking the 'dawn' of a new day. Her eyes, never able to handle sudden shifts in light, flared with pain like daggers being rammed through her skull. Scowling, she donned her sunglasses and said "Deal with it."

-^V^- -^V^-

Donnel Udina downed a handful of antacids as if they were candy, then slugged back a snifter of brandy to calm his nerves a bit. His assistant watched silently, then asked "Are you alright sir?"

He snorted. "While I appreciate the concern, your question is so poignantly rhetorical as to be laughable."

"I'll take that as a no then."

"Do that." He sighed, shook his head, then apologized. "I'm sorry, you're only trying to help. You didn't deserve that. It's just that this... _mess_ is the kind of apocalyptic political shitstorm that can easily kill a career."

"It's all right sir. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Anderson's latest reports just came in. The Normandy's en route as the council demanded. The wounded are all in critical condition but are expected to make full recoveries, thank god, and the beacon's remains are safely in secured storage."

"That sounds like good news sir. Why're you so upset?"

"We have one Spectre at death's door. A spectre candidate I risked my career, not to mention my _life_ to get into play in the bed next to him, and a civilian we know next to nothing about in the bed next to _her_. A potential treasure trove of information was reduced to shrapnel in a can and the council somehow learned about the Normandy's capabilities despite the fact they're classified so high even _I_ don't know half of what that... Flying Dutchman can do. Not only that but Shepard did something with her biotics no one's managed to identify and apparently has a lover close enough to warrant potentially suicidal measures to save. We have a veteran special operations member dead at her hands, and our sole witness is a Williams that somehow managed to muddle through it all relatively unharmed."

"I might know someone that can identify Shepard's biotics."

He blinked and looked up. "Explain."

"I know a huntress unit commander that might be able to help. She's proven knowledgable and willing to talk on multiple ocasions, given the right incentives."

"Which are?"

The woman blushed slightly. "Er, meals somewhere nice sir."

He blinked, then chuckled. "Ah. Call her and see if she'd be willing to talk. In exchange I'll make arrangements for two to the DarkStar Restaraunt, related expenses paid."

"Wow, I mean, thank you sir. If you'll excuse me?"

He nodded and his assistant bustled out of the room. He watched, then grinned and shook his head once the door closed behind her. Ah, to be young and single again.

-^V^- -^V^-

His dishes being carted off by an attendant Udina looked up as his assistant, accompanied by a drop dead gorgeous Asari, walked into his office. "Sir, this's huntress commander Lias Tovak regarding the matter we spoke of earlier."

"Ah, excellent. Ms. Tovak, thank you for your willingness to make a personal appearance. It's greatly appreciated."

"I'm honored to be of help Mr. Udina. May I sit?"

He motioned to the chairs across his desk. "Please, both of you. Maria, notes if you would?"

"Yes sir."

Once both were seated he said "What I'm about to reveal is, for the moment at least, classified. I need your word this goes no farther than this office."

"I swear on my house's name to reveal nothing I hear until such time as I'm released from my vow." The alien stated, her manner deadly serious.

"Perfect, thank you. If you'll direct your attention to the wall I'm going to play armor-cam footage of a still-developing situation. I need you to tell me what it is I'm seeing."

He brought up his omni, keyed in the right commands, and waited for the video to play out on a wall display. Once it finished his guest looked somewhere between stunned and googly-eyed. "Goddess, I didn't think that technique existed outside a Vanya episode. That's... wow."

He regarded her dubiously. "Vanya? Dare I ask?"

"It's a technique so rare most regard it as a myth. It requires power, focus, and is incredibly dangerous. In essense what she did was to sacrifice her own life force to temporarily hyper-accellerate her bondmate's healing abilities. She likely also took any and all pain the woman was feeling into herself to minimize her chosen's suffering."

He blinked, then nodded as if the news Shepard was married was somehow common knowledge. "I see. What are the after-effects?"

"She'll be in a coma for hours, maybe even days. She'll be exhausted, potentially for weeks and could, possibly, have incurred permanent health issues. Reduced stamina, reduced overall general health, reduced lifespan, diminished or even potentially burned out her biotics. She likely won't remember what happened either. Short term memories tend to get scrambled using _half_ that much power. I can confirm that personally."

At his inquiring look she sighed. "During hunt command training we're tested for the ability to use higher order biotic techniques. I did well in most, but I proved completely unable to control Santiir, what you call 'Flare'. I wound up putting myself in a 2 day coma and losing my memories of that entire day."

"Interesting. What about effects on the one being healed?"

"Much the same. The strength of their bond will also increase dramatically. In one account I read the couple became empathically linked nearly to the point of telepathy and when they were forced apart by their families over a political feud, both died."

The headache returned and he closed his eyes for a moment, massaging his temples as the ramifications of all of this raced through his mind like a Krogan in the proverbial china shop. After a minute he opened his eyes again and said "Thank you for your help Ms. Tovak. One last question if you would. How do I contact the Dark house?"

The Asari paled. "If you've any sense at all you won't. They're... not people even my order bothers without tremendous cause."

"I'd say one of their members using abilities out of a cheap romance novel would qualify." He deadpanned.

"That's... not possible."

"Impossible Ms. Tovak," He replied wearily, "appears to be Shepard's stock in trade."

-^V^- -^V^-

It was the scent of medical chemicals that woke her up. Acrid, terrifying, like fear itself draging a rusty cheese grater through her head.

Her eyes snapped open and she tried to dive off the bed, only to discover she'd been manacled to it. She tried to destroy the shackles with her biotics but instead of a flare of light or even the agony of a suppressor electrocuting her she got a whole other kind of pain. Everything drowned in it for what felt like a short eternity, then there was a distant pressure, a hiss, and her head slowly cleared.

After a few minutes she recognized the woman attending her. Dr. Chakwas. That kicked loose where she was, and highlighted the fact her head was so jumbled she couldn't remember what she'd done to wind up in medical.

"What happened?"

" _That_ , young woman, is a _very_ good question. How do you feel?"

"Like I just went 3 rounds with a Thresher maw after a weeklong bender on Omega. Why'd you manacle me to the bed?"

That earned her a chuckle and a quirked grin. "As descriptives go I'd have to say that's one for the books. As for why you're being restrained, you nearly killed a member of the crew when he was in here for a physical and made a sexist comment regarding Ms. Jameson's attributes. Now that you seem to have settled down, if you promise to behave yourself I'll remove them."

She blinked, frowned, then said "As long as no one attacks me I won't so much as burp at them. Work for you?"

The grey-haired woman smiled. "Perfectly, and for what it's worth I can understand the urge to smack around those with more testosterone than manners. All I ask is that you don't do it in my medbay." The doctor patted her shoulder, then stood and walked off to a nearby cabinet. Halfway back the doc turned to look at a monitor in the next stall and said "One moment. Ms. Jameson seems to be in distress."

Instead of a biting comment about delayed freedom or doctors being scatterbrained she blurted "She's having nightmares."

A grey-haired head poked around the curtain, regarded her silently for a moment, then dissappeared. A moment later there was a hiss as an injection was administered. A second later she heard the woman mutter "Hmm. Interesting."

Chakwas returned and unshackled her, then said "You appear to have been correct. A strong dose of painkillers and anti-anxiety medications settled her down pretty much instantly. In any case, now that that's been dealt with would you mind if I ran a few tests to see how you're doing?"

Surprised by a doctor actually bothering to get permission before jabbing her with needles, she replied "Uh, sure."

A quick round of tests later the doctor said "Well, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

"Doesn't matter."

"In that case bad first, so the good can cheer you up. You overstressed both your biotics and your body nearly to the breaking point. Be very glad you're you. If you were anyone else you'd likely be either brain dead or or just plain dead."

"Yay me." She grumbled.

"I'm mandating you take Zitroxin and be restricted to light duty for the next week. Your heart did more work in ten seconds than it did in the entirity of the week prior and it's still recovering."

"You're not gonna demand I stay in bed?"

"Would you do it if I did?"

"No."

"So I suspected. I want you healthy commander, but I know the difference between wishes and reality. Now for the good news. First, your bondmate... "

"I don't have a bondmate."

Steel colored eyes blinked. "Truly? Interesting. Very well then, Ms. Jameson will make a full recovery. Whatever you did saved her life, though it'll take several major surgeries and at least a month's rest before she'll be fit to get out of bed. Depending on how fast she heals, I'd say it'll be three months, maybe as much as six until she's fully recovered. Physically anyways. Mentaly and emotionally are anyone's guess if they're even possible. Many people with similar injuries are never the same again."

She scowled at thr thought Miranda might've survived, only to live out the rest of her life in someone's mental ward with a broken mind. "What'd I do? My memories are all whited out."

"According to the captain you used an an ability relegated to Asari legend and exclusive to dedicated bondmates to hurt yourself and heal her. You then accidentally activated the beacon and were knocked unconscious when it exploded."

Memories of nightmares burst out of her subconscious and she flinched as fresh pain blasted through her brain. Monitors beeped wildly for a second, then settled down just as Chakwas was about to set the rapidly-grabbed injector against her neck. It lingered a moment, then was withdrawn.

"I take it your memories aren't completely gone?"

"What you said triggered something. Nightmares from the beacon fucking with my head, I think."

The doctor goggled at her declaration. "You calm down _that_ fast from a PTSD attack?"

"I was trained to." She replied simply.

"The implications of that statement are so ethically repugnant I'm hesitant to guess at them. Regardless, physically you're functional if malnourished. I'm temporarily upgrading your food allotments and mandating you at least try to get 6 hours of sleep a night minimum until I fully clear you for duty. Unfortunately I've been instructed to 'suggest' that you head up to your quarters and get changed. The captain wants to speak to you in private as soon as possible."

"My armor?"

"I had to cut it off you. There's a set of clean underwear and a shipboard duty uniform that should fit you in that closet. I ask you return them once you've changed into your own. Oh, and please don't make this a regular occurance. You're a good patient but I really don't like frequent visitors." With that the older woman stood, nodded, and left.

With nothing else she could do she stood up, got dressed, and headed to her quarters.

-^V^- -^V^-

Anderson looked up from his desk as Shepard, now freshly showered and attired, walked into his office. "Ah, good. How're you doing?"

"I'm enervated, feel like absolute shit, have a monster migraine, and confused."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I hear ya. Grab a seat, I've got a few questions a lot of people high up on the command chain are demanding answers to."

She answered most of them in detail and simply said 'I don't know' to those she couldn't. She only told him Miranda's real name after he swore to keep it off the record. By the time they'd finished he wasn't a happy man. She of course picked up on the fact and asked what next.

He poured himself a drink, sipped it, and said "That's the million-credit question. Ms. Lawson's in a lot of hot water with some very nasty people right now, and her only saving grace until this meeting was that people thought you two were together. When it gets out that you're not there's a whole line of agencies the galaxy over looking to make her dissappear."

To his surprise she growled that unnerving back of the throat "Tiktiktiktik' trilling sound she only made when she was a bad idea away from going full bore blood rage on something. "Shepard, I think we need to have you do a sit-down with an Asari mind healer once we get to the Citadel."

"Why?"

"To see if Ms Lawson is, actually, your bondmate."

"Why do people even think we're involved?"

Her absolute cluelessness in the face of increasingly undeniable evidence was somehow both annoying and hilariously cute. "It might have something to do with the use of a near-mythic biotic technique exclusive to stronly bonded couples and you being so defensive of her that when a crewman commented on her rack you attacked him despite the fact you were _still in a coma_."

She scowled at him silently and he used his 'Commanding Officer' tone to ask "How is she?"

"Terrified, confused, and hurting because the painkillers are wearing off." she automatically replied. He said nothing and simply regarded her with a single eyebrow high. It took her a moment to realize what she'd just done. Once she did she glared at him, then muttered something he couldn't quite make out.

"I'll pretend that was complimentary." He noted dryly. "Believe me, I know just how you feel. First time I met Kahlee I was a sworn lifetime bachelor. Love 'em, leave 'em, and don't look back. Then this 'I couldn't breathe she was so beautiful' blonde shows up and the next thing I knew I was a happily married man."

"No offense, but I have precisely zero interest in a relationship with anyone. The closest thing I've ever had to an S.O. was that rifle I used to live with."

He snorted. "I remember." He shook his head after a moment as the the present and future overrode any memories of better times. "Right now the only lifeline Ms. Lawson has is you. The moment people think she's not actually affiliated with you she'll likely dissappear into someone's labs. That leaves you with three options. One, you continue telling people she's not your bondmate and she vanishes the moment we get to the Citadel. Two, you tell people she is and plan for a later falling out once things settle down a bit. Three, you follow an ancient bit of advice I've found more than useful."

"Which would be?"

"Free your mind and your ass will follow."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Acronyms and Notes!

En Route - On it's way

Flying Dutchman - A mythical naval ship, legend has it seeing it is an omen of your impending ill fotune or outright doom. Kinda fits the Normandy when you think about it.

Not-Smile - Ever been to a doctor and they spend most of the time smiling at you, but it's so dead, so unemotional, so _flat_ , it really isn't a smile at all? That.

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The short-short (But still accurate) version is this. Something happens the mind can't process. War trauma, abuse, any number of things can cause it. So, to keep working, the mind tries to lock it away and forget it. For some people it succeeds and their only problems are trust issues and being a bit edgy. For others it's a life wrecker. Nightmares when asleep, flashbacks to those nightmares when awake. Paranoia. Trust issues. Rage episodes. Depression. The list goes on. Shepard, thanks to extensive modification and training by the people who made her, can almost instantly block out and re-secure any flashbacks she has.

Shepard and the manacles - Shepard HATES the things, but she knew she had no way in hell of getting out of them without help so she decided to play along to keep from being tortured, raped, or any number of things that used to happen to her when shackled/tied to a bed. Would Chakwas do that? Hell no. But it's burned into her brain that tied to a bed equals pain and abuse, with the only path to survival being to appease those able to free her.

Anderson not sharing the booze - Shepard doesn't drink alcohol for a variety of reasons. He knew that so he didn't offer her a glass of the good stuff even if he figured she could probably use it.

Udina actually being nice - While the character in the games made an amusing, if often disorganized and self contradictory villain, there's not a veteran diplomat alive that isn't a consumate con man. Think about it. They have to walk into a room full of people that either don't like or flat out hate them, then get those people to see things their way. Some asshole screaming outrage and shitstorm every other scene couldn't convince much of anyone to do anything other than smack 'em upside the back of the head. Also, in the game his motivations aren't ever very clear. Why's he a diplomat in the first place? How'd he get posted to the Citadel? Also, his involvement with Cerberus makes no sense. If the man was so interested in power, just what exactly did he think he'd be in charge of if the coup was successful? Enough evidence would've survived to link him to the attack to make him number one on the SA hitlist.

The existance of both the AIS (Alliance Intelligence Service) and the SAISD is explained pretty simply. No one in their right mind willingly trusts the SAISD, so the AIS was established to do much of the same work (In theory, though in practicality their goals and methods are often at odds) without violating the world constitution in the process.

World war Three and Religion on Earth!

Now, I want to preface this by saying I'm not religious. I believe in powers (Plural) greater than myself, but I'm too logical and snarky to believe in any all-powerful anything. The very concept is self-contradictory. That being said, I also see how powerful religion can be, and with how I've sorted out world war three religion was key to mankind's survival since it needed a unifying factor and some very creative clergy decided to provide it.

World war three went from slow burn to actual military conflict on Jul 4th 2020 when various American Militia, tired of the increasingly blatant manipulation of the US Government by the corporate elite, finally said fuck it and attacked various corporate headquarters. Other groups worldwide figure that's a great idea and follow suit. It's essentially a worldwide civil war but instead of _nation_ versus _nation_ , it's people versus corporations/nations with one side having numbers, rage, and nothing left to lose, the other having pretty much every other advantage there is.

The Earth's population drops from just under 7 billion to just over 3 in the course of 20 years, and the fear is it won't stop until there's nothing left to save. Some clergy in a refugee camp that had several different religions and a lot of people sick of war got together and formed a sort of "United Nations" for religion. It gave people hope and it unified them. One thing led to another, and eventually, through their demands for peace, their willingness to sit down with anyone to talk about it, and their absolute refusal to screw anyone over, they managed to get the powers that be to sit down with the survivors and hammer out a treaty that re-established many of the various nations of the world, established a regulated worldwide economy with built-in consumer protections, established a few 'Universal rights' like the right to a fair trial, the right to free speech, and so on, mandated environmental cleanup measures since the planet was damn near dead, and banned the suppression of technology but otherwise re-established the status quo.

That of course isn't the whole story. Far from it, but to give away more would be giving away some major future plot points.

Next chapter, the Citadel! Udina! Love doctor Athyta!


	8. Chapter 8

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 08

"Shep! I thought we were buds!"

Ever since Joker had found out she was 'married' he'd been on her case for lying to him about not being involved with anyone. It would've helped if she could tell him it was all a cover story to keep Miranda safe but the old saw about the fewer people knowing a secret the less the chance it'd stop being a secret was no less true despite being a cliché.

It didn't help that she seemed to be acting like she and Miranda really were bondmates. The fact video of what'd happened had somehow made the rounds of the ship wasn't helping either. Women were googly-eyed over the supposed romance of 'sacrificing herself to save her dying love' as one yeoman had put it while the male crew seemed to be of the general opinion she needed a steady round of bro-fists for 'scoring' such an attractive mate.

Idiots, all of them.

"We are, but classified shit's still classified. The whole situation I got tangled up with her in? It's the kind of thing people can get killed just for admitting ever happened, much less that they were involved."

The fact none of that was a lie, simply referencing current events from a skewed angle voided any unease she would've otherwise felt at lying to one of the very few people she called friend. Besides, she was doing it to save lives, his included.

"Figures. So, does that mean you never had a bachelorette party? 'Cause you know that shit's tradition."

"I don't do parties."

"Yeah, I picked up on that. Still, gotta admit you have seriously good taste. I mean dayum, she's fucking gorgeous, she can keep up with you in a fight, sorta, and that accent! You are one _lucky_ woman Shep."

"Yeah yeah." She complained. "How long until we get to the Citadel?"

"Five minutes until we emerge from relay transit, another 20 estimated to the main Alliance docks. Fucking politicians. My baby's supposed to be top secret, not splashed across the goddamn evening news."

She heard footsteps approaching and turned to see who it was. When she did she said "Alenko. Williams. Here to see the giant space dildo?"

"The wha?!" Ash exclaimed, confused.

"She means the Citadel gunny." Joker explained. "Usually the arms are open and it looks kinda like a giant fencepole hole digger. When it's closed though, well, Shep's right. Thing looks like a 10 klick long dildo. Which, by the way, still wouldn't plug your average pop starlet."

The new crewmember snickered at that. "Not even gonna go there SFO."

"Achem. This's the cockpit, and the crude fellow in the hot seat is Jefferson Moreau, AKA Joker. Former SA Navy, honorable medical discharge, here on long term contract as an IMC. He's got severe brittle bone disease so no matter how much you wanna slap that shit eating grin off his face, and you _will_ , don't." Alenko declared.

"Nobody around here appreciates a sense of dapper rapier wit, I swear."

" _No one_ appreciates your wit Joker." the man retorted.

"The whole 'dating a supermodel' thing kinda says otherwise Alenko."

"Pics or it didn't happen"

A few taps on his omni later a side display changed to a slideshow of Joker and his girl at various parties, raves, and a few shows. One even had him in a suit looking like he had something resembling class.

"Your HoloShop skills know no limit buddy."

"No, he's telling the truth. I was with them having dinner when the flare went up for this op." She confirmed. "Joker's a lot of things, but delusional's not one of 'em."

"That's Alyssa Croft right?" Williams inquired.

"Yep, and she has a lot of single male model friends that happen to love a woman in uniform gunny. Say the word and I'll hook you up."

"Thanks but I don't do casual relationships."

"Your loss. Approaching relay transit exit in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Aaand, welcome to the second biggest cesspit in the galaxy."

There was a flash of blue light and a momentary queasy feeling as your inner ear took a second to catch up to the rest of you. Outside the windows however the supposed splendor of a nebula that stretched for dozens of light-years in every direction and in the middle of it all, the Citadel.

The ship banked towards it while behind them in 'Ops Alley' the com officers contacted the right people and relayed their security clearances. A few minutes of travel later they flew past the Citadel defense fleet flagship as it and 4 heavy cruisers ran a patrol.

"My god! That thing's huge! What is it?"

"The Destiny Acension. One of seven Vasei'lia fleet command dreadnaughts ever built and the only one that operates for extended periods outside Asari space. Armament's classified but known to be approximately 6 times heavier than an Everst-class. It also has a small compliment of fighters and the most powerful shields ever mounted to a mobile platform."

"Daaaaamn. Remind me to never piss off the Asari military."

Everyone chuckled as she replied "Good plan gunny."

-^V^- -^V^-

Udina looked up as his assistant walked back into his office. "Yes?"

"Sir, the Normandy's scheduled to dock in 15 minutes. The AIS is demanding at least 15 more to properly secure the ship and dock against surveillance. They also warned us the STG have multiple ships along it's flight path and that the Destiny Acension all but ran the ship over."

He sighed, then nodded. "I'd have been more surprised if they hadn't, though using the DA itself likely means nothing good. Were you able to find out anything about Shepard's background or her sisters?"

"Yessir. They were the product of a black ops group setup by the AIS. The project's original goal was genetics upgrades for special operations units with more substantial benefits than was standard at the time. The SAIS co-opted it and the new of the project took it completely off the rails, making girls as both soldiers and brood mothers. When ops group lead, a decorated AIS agent named Jack Harper, managed to deduce he'd been duped and that he'd been even loosely affiliated with such a project he commited suicide. The entire unit then went rogue, attempting to free the surviving subjects and becoming what we now know as Cerberus."

"Where?"

"Chicago. More than 130 children were made, roughly a dozen attempted to escape in the chaos. Only six actually made it to Chicago's back alleys in the dead of winter. They had no clothes, no money, and no names at the time."

"How did they acquire them?"

"Money and a home were through criminal activity. One of them hooked, one guarded their base of operations, three engaged in high order gang activity, and one, Shepard, led them. They picked names for each other based off books they stole from a local Oyapi who tried to force them to work for him. He and his entire family were found dead by his second in command after having been biotically vivisected."

He winced. That'd be hell to spin when it got out. "Names and locations?"

"From oldest to youngest we have Cinderalla 'Cindy' Darke. Currently a grey-market freelance tech, she has no criminal record and is believed to be heavily involved in the design and manufacture of limited production black operations equipment for N7 command, though from all evidence she saves the best for Shepard and another of their sisters. She does have unconfirmed reports of mental instability however, and is a known recluse. She's unmarried, has zero outstanding debts, and a clean credit history."

"Interesting. Next?"

"Jasmine Tigré, an executive assistant at Bionetics. Other than a large number of speeding tickets she has no criminal history, though she's strongly suspected of being a stellar-class hacker. Married, one child, no domestic or financial issues."

"That makes sense. The first could provide top notch gear, the second is well placed to provide valuable information on a number of topics of interest. Next?"

"Guinifaer DeSadé. Owner and lead operator of a nightclub in an economically unstable district of Chicago, no criminal history but stronly suspected of heavy ties to several local Oyapo. She's married with one child but is estranged from her husband due to unspecified reasons. Her finances are difficult to track as she operates largely on a cash and carry basis."

"Interesting. Again, extremely strategically placed."

"Agreed sir. Second to last is Angeline Wallace. A freelance security asset known to work for various agencies doing investgational work. Most of what she does is classified and running a profile on her prompted calls from the AIS, DTSA, MI-9, and Mossad."

"You assueged their fears I trust?"

"I told them what I legally could and asked if they could have her contact us, either privately or via a brokered meeting at a neutral ocation. MI-9 agreed and I'm expecting a callback within the next 3 days."

He blinked, then nodded. "Adept work. Lastly?"

"Elsa Vadier, a known IMC operating mostly out of the Terminus systems. The only confirmed 'Success' of the Hellion program. Suspected of strong ties to Aria T'Loak but due to her location and the work she does she's pretty much a ghost. She's also by far the most powerful of the group."

The thought that someone might be 'by far' more powerful than Shepard sent a cold shiver up his spine. "How much so?"

"The others are, on average, equivalent to mid-matron stage Asari. Shepard is, roughly, early/mid matriarch stage. Elsa has been known to display power levels roughly on par with something called an Ardat Yakshi. What that is... "

He felt the blood drain from his face like water out of a tub. "My god... That's... how in the hell, pardon my language, did they make such a person?!"

"No one can confirm it but the general belief is that the Asari gene donor was a member of the royal house no one speaks of. Inquiries by other parties have resulted in responses ranging from being told to drop the topic to, usually, being attacked by commandos from the Asari Royal Guards. I judged it best not to pry further."

He stood, walked over to the mini bar in his office, and poured himself a triple bourbon, no ice. Then he downed it as if it were water and after a muttered "Jesus Christ, this just gets better by the minute." then asked "What's Shepard's legal status? I recall something about her being promised citizenship by the Asari government due to her adoption by the Dark House."

"The Asari consulate's requesting she pay them a visit to sort issues regarding that out as soon as we can spare her. Also, a senior sister of the Dark House is on-station. I took the liberty of routing her to the Alliance docks and arranging a temporary security pass."

He nodded, feeling the migraine starting to thunder through his brain fade slightly. "Good work. My car?"

"Already at your private carport. I also set out a facial scrub and a dose of booze-gone in your ensuite."

"Perfect, thank you. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the situation. If there's an emergency call me on the secured line. If not, try to keep the chaos to a minimum."

"I'll see you're not disturbed sir."

"Excellent." He nodded and headed to the office bathroom concealed behind a holo-painting to scrub his face and ponder retiring somewhere less hazardous.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard looked around as she stepped out of the docking umbilical into the ship terminal. Nothing seemed amiss other than the dour-looking man in a creme-colored suit accompanied by a matriarch of the dark house.

"Let me do the talking." Anderson, next to her whispered.

"Aye sir." She replied, equally discrete.

He led her over to them, saluted, and said "Colonel Anderson and my XO, Lt. Commander Shepard reporting as ordered."

"Ambassador Donnel Udina. My associate is matriarch Athyta Vasir, Satelie of the dark house. Thank you for your quick response captain. I know you likely wanted to stick around and help the survivors but circumstances demanded otherwise. I've arranged for your injured to be routed to Huerta Memorial on the consulate's tab as an apology."

"It's appreciated sir, thank you."

Udina waved it off. "It's the least I could do." The man then turned to her and stated "You, however, and I mean no offense by this, are a political nuke. I must ask in the strongest possible terms you avoid the press and any political personnel other than myself."

"Torfan aside sir, I'm not interested in being famous."

"Good, that'll make things a lot easier for all of us. Since Ms. Jameson is your bondmate she'll be routed to the council ward of Huerta Memorial. With the level of care they offer I'd be surprised if she weren't back on her feet inside 72 hours."

"Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome. Ms. Vasir, Shepard's yours. Please keep in mind I'll need her in 2 hours for a council appearance."

"Shouldn't be a problem. C'mon kid, let's go for a drive."

She followed the woman to a nearby car port, then waited for the thing to show up. To her surprise it was a sleek black and chrome sport's model. The doors automatically swung open and her hostess motioned. "Get in. We'll talk while we fly."

She did as instructed then waited for the woman to speak. After a few minutes of silence Athyta asked "Not much for conversaion, are ya?"

"When I was in boot we were taught to be silent unless spoken to."

"Musta been some training."

"One could say that."

"Mind a meld? Your CO put in for a healer. Something about your head getting fucked with by a beacon as it blew up."

By way of response she held up a hand. The car was set on autopilot then her hand was grasped. There was a sensation of yanking on some part of her she'd never felt before followed by a sickening probe through everything she was, ever had been, and hints of what she might someday be. Then, suddenly, she was yanked farther and was pulled out of that darkness into deep space. A dense starfield to all sides that seemed to be made up of billions of stars in a bewildering array of colors. Some feeling she couldn't name permeated her, calming what shouldve been an instintual fear/anger reaction to a sudden transit to an unknown lcation.

Before her was the form of one of those lights crammed into the form of Athyta. A sad and disgusted look was on the woman's face while her body language spoke of resignation. "Goddess kid. You aren't a mess you're a fucking landfill."

"I noticed. What is this? Where are we?"

"Ever hear the expression 'Find peace in the embrace of the goddess?"

"Justicars use it when killing fellow Asari and civvies use it when trying to comfort those in severe distress. Presumed to be some form of religious benediction." She replied, quoting from an AIS profile on Asari civilization.

" _This_ is the embrace of the goddess. Each light out there's a soul. Some are trancendant, some are darkest evil, most waver between the two on a second to second basis. Technically speaking, think of this as a super-low-level hive mind for the entire Asari race. Most people, they have to be careful about visiting this place. The peace here, it can eat you alive until there's nothing left but a mindless husk. You though, and people like you, get told to pop in whenever they can spare the time. Use it to balance themselves out or de-stress after something fucked up happens."

She blinked, mentally assimlating both the knowledge and it's ramifications. "I'm not a pureblood Asari." She stated after a moment.

"True. Most of you is though so I figure that just means it'll be harder, not impossible."

She sighed, annoyance rumbling through her for a moment before fading. "Story of my life."

"I hear ya. Still, you've got some help. That bondmate of yours, me, Anderson, Joker. Problem is, your bond with Miranda's Sia'dei. A link to the core, till death do you part more than a kiloclick or so. You do that and you both die. Upside is you'll be smarter. Harder to upset, more powerful and more controlled biotically, even recover from injuries a bit faster. You'll be able to tell the mood of your other half, how she is, generally speaking, physically, as well as where she is in relation to you."

"Excuse me?!"

"Think of it this way. Before this you were two people with two separate nervous systems. Now you're two people, each with half of one."

Rage, fear, and confusion blasted through her for a full 3 seconds before they faded into the space around her, again replaced by that extremely disturbing 'peace' she distrusted on a basic level. To quote one of her instructors, peace was what happened when everyone ran out of ammo. While she hated most of their 'lessons' _that_ one, in her experience, had held true.

"Sonofavorcha! You must be even more fucked up than I thought to be feeling bad shit so strong even this place can't smooth it out the instant it happens."

Again she said "I noticed."

"Un-fucking your head's gonna take a lot of work kid. A _lot_ and you're gonna have to do almost all of it. Thing is, when the job's done you'll be a functional person. Able to live, not just survive, and you'll give enough of a damn about yourself you'll actually want to instead'a this semi-suicidal shit you've got going on right now. You and that bondmate of yours will be able to trust and rely on each other when the galaxy tries to bend you over and fuck you straight outta the game. The question is, are you willing to put the work in? If you are we can get started. If not, I'll tell the sisters you're Zashtel and pray you find some measure of peace before you finally manage to kill yourself enough to _stay_ dead."

It felt like her everything got gut punched by toxic ooze. The thought she might, someday, have all of that had been little more than a desperate dream devoid of hope. Now here it was and she wasn't sure she had the guts to pull it off.

Then something Elsa said popped outta the back of her head. _Freedom ain't easy. It's not supposed to be. You have to be willing to bleed for it, sacrifice something you care about and let people hate your guts because that's what freedom is. A billion people, ten billion opinions, and no one on your ass about what you believe. Free minds, free thinkers, equality for all and people who can look themselves in the fucking mirror and respect what they see. Can you?_

She grimaced but knew the answer was and always had been no. She was a monster. She'd been made to be one, and until now her only option was to be so much worse than everyone else they'd leave her the fuck alone. But now? Now she could, if she finally gave Elsa's advice a chance, be _better_.

"I'm in." She managed, feeling like something was slowly pulling her guts out through her throat.

"Good, and for what it's worth you've got a lotta sisters, me among 'em, who've faced the same Athame-damned choice for the same fucking reasons. So, psychotic bitch from the depths guide to life, chapter one. Any time you wanna do something stupid hoping it'll kill you? Don't. One, you die and all this's worthless. Everything you've ever done'll get undermined and what little you give a shit about'll get bent the fuck over by everything you ever hated. If that ain't enough there's your bondmate to consider. You get killed and it'll fuck her up for life. If she's lucky she'll be a drooling void-brain until she dies. Worst case? Nightmares you wouldn't believe, pain like you've never felt, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, again until she dies. Remember, 2 bodies, one nervous system."

She scowled at that but nodded.

"Good. I did a quick link assessment and she's damn near as fucked up as you are and for a lotta the same reasons so treat her decent. You do that and I guarantee your life'll get a lot better pretty much instantly." The matriarch sighed and chuckled, though it was a bitter sound lacking amusement of any kind. "Athame's tits. Me giving relationship advice. There's irony for you."

"Problem?"

"I bonded another Asari, sired a pureblood kid. Things were good for a while then I got pulled into a huge mess that damn near turned into a house war. By the time I managed to get free of that shit our daughter had graduated collage and Nezzy'd gone wrong. The woman I bonded was light and hope. Now she treats everyone, me included, like a piece on a gameboard and she doesn't hesitate to sacrifice whatever she figures she has to to win. I've tried talking to her but she barely says hello anymore and she refuses to meld at all. Insists it's better this way, like she's doing me a favor or some shit."

"Sounds like she got broken by something. Ardat Yakshi attack maybe, or brainwashed. Bad chem reaction could do it too."

"Nezzy wouldn't do shit with a nightwind except kill it and that woman was the most stubborn pain in the azure I've ever met. She barely drank, a few glasses of wine to be polite at most, and she hated drugs thanks to a friend of hers overdosing herself into an early grave."

"Might've been a meds reaction from something routine, or one of her enemies poisoning her. As for the A.Y. option only an idiot assumes they're 100% secure at all times. If one of those got focused, especially an elder, they might've managed a sneak attack or an ambush that got covered up for whatever reason."

"Maybe, or maybe my dissappearing on her hurt her so bad she couldn't take it. Either way there's not a hell of a lot I can do about it right now except make sure you don't repeat my mistakes."

"So, how do we handle the situation with my... bondmate?" The word sounded alien, unprocessable, but somehow essential.

"Easy. I'll hire her as an IMC, set her up as our resident expert on anti-geth EWAR tactics."

She looked at the woman dubiously and her new mentor simply chuckled. "Know the pinkskin idiom 'It helps to know the right people'? Well, I know a _lot_ of the right people."

"Why're you doing all of this?"

"You're a sister and this's my gig. Find those with broken souls and help 'em put themselves back together. That and booze it up at bars. As for why... I was born on the tail end of the unification war. Grew up doing shit that makes the worst of your blood rage rampages look like a fucking benediction. Then suddenly the war's over and I had nothing. No money, no home, no idea who or what I was. Took me a long time, a lot of booze, and a Hanar bondmate with a heart like no other to figure it out. Thing is, unlike me you've got someone that's been there. That knows exactly how you feel and can help you through it. You've got someone else that can give you a reason to give a shit about living something resembling a decent life and a chance to be something _more_ than what you were made to be."

Unsure how to respond to that, she simply nodded.

"Step one's getting your ass to that council meeting. Normally it'd be a nasty fight somewhere against people needing a santiir up the ass followed by a lotta booze'n a good cry but that ain't an option right now. I'll meet up with you after that since I need to call this mess in and I'm not real welcome in the council chambers. Headbutted a Krogan that was being a complete ass and kinda wound up barred from the premisis."

"They're gonna wanna know what we talked about." She noted.

"I'll record a message to 'em, don't worry. Oh, and once you're done there you should haul hindparts for the Asari Conulate. Gotta sort your citizenship out and get you an updated ID. After that I figure we go check on your bondmate and see if she's awake. If she is, we do a 3-way and sort this shit out. If not I need a bottle, a booth, and something with loose ideas on short term relationships."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Acronyms and notes!

DTSA - Digital/Technoloigical Security Agency. A crown branch operation that monitors the development, construction, and release of potentially dangerous data or technologies. If something needs to be suppressed, they keep it off the extranet. If someone's trying to make WMD's they make the whole operation dissappear. They hate the SAISD so they're a bit less thorough about their jobs than they theoretically should be when it comes to covering up their BS.

MI-9 - Western European special operations group that mostly deals with gathering and sorting information. Lotta hackers, some field agents who mostly sneak into sensitive facilities and pull strategic data, not much else. The physical stuff's mostly handled by MI-6, famous as the agency James Bond works for.

Mossad - Israeli special operations. Some of the most ruthless, hardcore, deviously brilliant, and if you piss 'em off, outright malevolent people on the planet. After world war three and the expansion of Israel they became even more feared and even more hard core. Even the SAISD won't fuck with them unless they have to.

Satelie - (Sah Till Lee Yay) Essentially a combination of clan successor and head enforcer. Since clan heads generally stay home, they're the people who go out and handle things in the field. It's a powerful and dangerous position so only the best and brightest of a house get the job.

How melding works in my story - For most melds, think of it as directly networking two computers. They're separate entities but able to converse and share ideas/info at high speed in a sort of mental and spiritual virtual space. What Athyta's doing is much the same, but one computer hacks the other and roots through every file on it for anything interesting. It's invasive and requires a lot of skill to pull off without crashing the other party's OS. For reproduction it's deeper, higher 'bandwidth' and one computer essentially creates a disk image of the other, then uses it and their own OS to compile a whole new system. Lastly Ardat Yakshi are, essentially, so powerful and so unstable that when you network them with another system you get the infamous blue screen of death.

The Embrace of the goddess - Remember that 'virtual space' I mentioned? That, but with a low speed internet connection able to 'see' the IP address of every other system out there topped off with always-on system optimiztion programs making sure nothing stresses or crashes the network.

Sia'dei - The strongest bond there is, it does exactly what Athyta says. It permanently links two people on a fundamental level, making both more capable but forcing them to remain in proximity or they both crash. The computer equivalent would be taking two computers and replacing them with one dual-processor server. Get everything linked up and it'll run programs faster, smoother, and with less stress on the overall system. Start yanking wires and the whole thing goes up in flames.

Next Chapter, Vakarian! The Council! Udina the Marine!


	9. Chapter 9

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 09

Shepard walked into the council chambers and looked around. Opulance was on the place like tacky on a pimp, complete with people in gaudy clothing on the fringes trying to impress each other. Guards in stylized heavy armor stood at even intervals armed with impressive-looking weapons she had to suppress the urge to laugh at. The things were anti-armor cannon. One stray shot and boom, no more council.

The foyer itself was expansive with a heavy Asari influence. Not surprising since the Asari were the first to have discovered and settled the station. What _was_ surprising was the head of C-Sec arguing with one of his officers. She focused and used mental tricks to filter their voices out of the background noise.

"I don't care what you were told Vakarian. Your investigation is an insult to all Turians! The mere thought someone thinks Saren even _might_ be a traitor has my claws ready for blood."

"Sir, I'm following orders from the council. If I don't do at least the basics demanded by protocol I'll not only be disobeying a direct order from my superiors, I'll be comitting a citadel-level felony."

"Don't pop your fringe at me boy!"

The officer, Vakarian, finally lost his cool and shoved his face in his superior's. "I'm trying to do my damn job the way the law and my superiors demand. Fuck with me on this and I'll throw you into a cell for interfering with a citadel investigation. Oh, and if you threaten to fire I'll not only haul you to the cells by your mandibles, I'll call all the people you've fucked over in your little crusade to deify Spectres and give them everything they'd ever need to sue your entire line into such poverty you'll start thinking Vorcha are economic gods."

Without another word the man turned and stormed off, leaving his stunned-into-silence superior there to gape at his receding back.

That actually managed to impress her. He either had balls to make a Krogan weep in envy or he was a so-called 'Feral' Turian who gave precisely zero fucks about how things were 'supposed' to be. They tended to either be vicious criminals or the kind of rogue operators that got shit done. Either way they were trouble on two legs.

She made a mental note to check in with him later since he might know something useful then headed into the main chamber to meet her potential, and currently technical, bosses.

After passing through the security checkpoint she spotted Udina, Anderson, and Williams all waiting for her. Two of the councillors, Sparatus and Valern, were already at their podiums. Tevos was off to the side talking to another Asari she didn't recognize.

As she approached Udina he said "Good of you to join us commander. Were you able to resolve things with your elder?"

"As much as they can be right now, yes sir. She's going to be coming with me as my mentor and, well, therapist. See if she can un-fuck my head a bit, make me something resembling a functional person."

"More power to her then. Your bondmate?"

"Other than a call-in to get an update on her condition nothing new sir."

"How is she?"

"They're estimating 24 to 30 hours for a discharge recovery, another week of rest and admin duty for full."

"Excellent. Say what you will about the council but their doctors are undeniably the best in the business."

"A _day_ to fix damage like that? Daaaaaamn." Williams said, clearly impressed.

"On topic, it's been pointed out to me that I lack anything resembling a military mindset. I thus did some studying and consulted Colonel Anderson, so I ask you pay attention to what I'm about to say like you would an in-brief for being reposted to a CA."

 _That_ got her attention. CA meant Crisis Area, or somewhere bad things happened on a regular basis. In-brief's were the military's version of a 'Hey dumbass! These are the things you _don't_ do, these are the places you _don't_ go, and these are the people you _don't fuck with._ ' survival checklist. It was usually boring as hell but the information presented would likely save your life.

"You don't know the language or have the lay of the land and are ignorant of who the players are or how the game's played. Stay back, shut up, and speak only when spoken to or you could get us all killed. And I mean that literally. A wrong word here can dirt millions or lay an entire civilization to waste so when I say be silent I mean say nothing, stand as still as possible, and if asked a question keep your answer as short as you can make it without being overtly rude."

Anderson chuckled. "What he said, double from me."

"Formation?" She asked, things mentally snapping into focus as she mentally re-filed the citadel diplomatic zones from 'Buncha lazy bullshit con artists' to 'Active verbal war zone'.

"Square. Anderson and I in front, Williams behind him, you behind me. Stand at parade rest and when answering the council temporarily step forward, do so, then resume formation."

"Uh, you're not what I'd expected sir."

The politician sighed and turned to face the gunny. "Let me guess. You were expecting copious amounts of sleaze, ass-kissing, an overabundance of ego, and an utter lack of ethics?"

"Er, yes... sir?" The woman replied nervously.

"I wish I could say it's an unreasomable expectation but unfortunately it's one that my collegues fit far too often. I however got into this business because, much like you, I wanted to help people to the best of my ability. I've never been the physical sort but I can swing a debate to my advantage or stall it so it doesn't go the other way. Mentally shifting gears as you just saw is one tool, among many, I use to do so. Now everyone into formation. The session's about to start."

They moved immediately and by the time the gong chimed they were as ready as they'd ever be. She prayed to whoever might be listening, Athame foremost but she wasn't feeling picky, that this didn't blow up in all their faces.

Sparatus was first to speak. "Ladies, gentlemen, welcome. Before I begin the proceedings I'd like to remind all present that classified matters will be discussed. Recordings of any kind, or repeating anything you may hear, is now a citadel-level felony and will result in lifetime imprisonment at hard labor at the least."

She saw several people in the balconies to the sides hastily shut off their omni's and one reporter's cam-bot go dark.

"Thank you. Now, Councillor Udina, please summarize recent events."

He did, starting with the beacon's discovery, then through the entire ordeal until the Normandy's arrival. When he finished he added "Everything is, of course, verifiable by black box and armor cam recordings as well as low level link inquiry."

There was silence for a minute as the information was mentally digested. Valern, breaking people's introspection, said "This does not look good Captain. Humanity's spectre failed her first mission spectacularly."

Udina stepped forward, his face such a neutral emotionless mask she could tell he was a bad thought away from verbally eviscerating the Salarian. "Your statement reeks of political opportunism and greed councillor. Was the Beacon recovered intact? Despite the best efforts of all, including a _fully operational and experienced Spectre_ , no. Was it recovered in a state able to be analyzed? Yes. I won't claim that's a 100% win, but it's far better than _your_ man managed. In point of fact he'd be _dead_ if not for her. Shepard also prevented mass starvation and millions of deaths, the loss of a garden world colony, and due to her actions we now have firsthand intelligence on the Geth. So tell me Valern, in what way does that qualify as a spectacular failure?"

The Salarian huffed indignantly but fell silent.

Tevos spoke next. "Commander, your impressions of the Geth?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't really remember fighting them. Sergeant Williams would be a better option."

"Why can you not remember fighting such an enemy?"

"They were a threat to my bondmate so I was blood raging ma'am."

"Blood... raging? I do not understand. How does a human, even one with your reputedly exotic genetics, fall into a Krogan-exclusive mental state?"

"I'm 30% Krogan."

"That's not possible. No one has the technology to mix two such distinct and separate species with any measure of success."

Udina motioned her back and said "Since no one seems to have properly briefed you I'll acquaint you with the commander's genetic makeup. She's 13% human, 30% Krogan, and 57% Asari. She heals nearly as quickly as a Krogan, has similar bone density and," he noted with a chuckle, "A propensity for headbutting things that upset her. She also, as stated by the Asari mind healer she saw just prior to this meeting, is capable of 'Embrace of the goddess' without aid. Lastly, she's fully able to use biotics techniques that were, until now, exclusive to the Asari elite. Numbering among those are the use of Laseiri blades, Santiir, Lasira, and Sia'dei to name but a few."

That set the entire room to gaping. Even the council looked surprised. The diplomat, obviously seeing his chance, said "By admitting her to the Spectre's you get a literal living example of multi-species unity under your control. You free half a dozen people from out-and-out slavery. You have a chance to go on a morally pure and public crusade against a universally hated organization that'll earn you a solid 5% or more approval rating increase. One of the deadliest beings alive, an opinion shared even by her new sisters of the Dark House, is placed under your direct command, likely with the SSV Normandy as her ship, also giving you partial control over it's actions. Lastly you get, through her, a direct and discrete line of communication to Aria T'loak. A feat you've attempted multiple times but failed to do until, potentially, now."

It was blatant salesmanship but that was, at the core of it, his job. To essentially 'sell' her to the council, or at least keep her from being refused outright.

Tevos was the first to speak and her body language was amused. "You make... interesting points ambassador Udina. Sergeant, your account of the events on Eden Prime?"

Ash recovered and went through her experiences, making sure to point out and highlight any potentially or proven useful tactics and countermeasures. When she finished Sparatus said "Your skills are remarkable Sergeant. How is it you're not in a special unit?"

"I'm a Williams sir." She explained. "My grandfather was the commander on Shanxi. His surrender to protect civilians is viewed by most as cowardice and a betrayal of the men and women under his command."

"Excuse me? That's... nonsensical. If he hadn't done what he died that entire colony would've been annihilated."

"Yessir, but humans hate losing. It makes people feel powerless so they find someone, dump all the blame on 'em, and convince themselves they would've done better if it'd been them."

"Assignation of blame to appease one's ego is ill-advised." Valern stated, scowling. "It keeps you from learning how to keep the problem from happening again."

Udina, motioning the woman back and taking her place, said "A fact people know intellectually but don't actually learn. It's a facet of my race no one likes, including us. However, sociological and racial idiosycracies aren't the topic of discussion."

"That is true ambassador, though it's one I believe will become one at a later, less formal date by those more qualified to discuss it. On topic," Tevos stated, "this does bring up how and why Shepard's bondmate was in the area."

"She's a freelance security expert specilizing in computer operations. She'd been hired by the Eden Prime government to patch several problematic issues effecting support services and civilian communications. Such a position couldn't have effected the attack as she didn't have access to military or police systems. According to surviving security footage she was asleep in her hotel after having engaged in strenuous PT for nearly 3 hours. Not, I think you'll agree, the actions of someone expecting a war to break out."

"What about establishing her as an agent?"

Udina snorted. "Ah yes. Let's use a massive attack on a civilian population that'll result in tens of millions of deaths and untold suffering to get an agent into position that's _already married_ to someone with a high security clearance and a tactile telepath. Makes tremendous sense."

The Salarian knew when he was being mocked but that didn't make the ambassador's point any less valid. He fell silent after another disgusted huff and settled for glowing at them all. She heard Williams snicker and mutter "Owned." quietly enough you'd have needed to be right next to her or have enhanced hearing to pick up.

Sparatus, stepping in before anyone could get too upset, asked "Commander, you regained awareness after eliminating the enemy. What happened after that?"

"Sergeant Williams Ms. Jameson and I secured the beacon. Two OIIA units were directed on-site as a security detail and to help with moving the beacon without activating it. One of them had overdosed on war drugs that exaggerated his racist tendancies and he attempted to disable my weapons, not realizing they'd already been disabled."

"Why? And is that why you attacked him?"

"My gear's all set to lock itself down if it gets more than a few meters away from me. He refused to believe me and used an electrical arc attack on my primary weapon. It discharged and gutted my bondmate. I charged him to get to her at which point I used Sia'dei to save her life. Incoherent and badly injured, I stumbled into the beacon's activation field. What we believe were energy-surge activated charges then destroyed it and further injured me. If not for my regeneration and prompt medical care I'd have likely died again."

"Again? I do not understand."

"I've been declared legally dead 5 times."

"How... wait, I don't want to know." The Asari sighed, unconsciously flicking her fingers in the high dance version of 'I'm getting too old for this shit' before continuing. "You spoke to a member of the Dark house upon your arrival. Why, and what did you discuss?"

She held up the data disk her mentor had made in anticipation of that exact question. "Matriarch Athyta anticipated your request and recorded a message for the council."

"Please slot it into the podium before you."

Anticipating chaos shortly, she did so and stepped back. A second later a holo of her new mentor's head appeared over it with an expression suggesting gleeful mischief was in the offing.

"Hey kids, miss me? No? Sucks to be you 'cause Shep here's my new project. See if I can fix what the humans spent a few decades doing their best to break. Get her drunk off her ass, have a good cry, boink her bondmate, teach her how to use her biotics properly, and generally play big sis while she runs around making sure people needing help get it instead of getting screwed."

The matriarch's expression and voice hardened after a second of silence. "What's pissing me off right now isn't that you're a buncha tightwad stick-up-the-ass blowhards however. It's the fact Shep here's SA government _property_. She was made in a lab to fuck things up and just plain fuck things. Had every war that's ever been waged force fed straight into her brain while most people are trying to learn to walk. Was forced to kill her only childhood friend at gunpoint. Oh, and let's not forget the fact the moment she and her sisters, more than a hundred and twenty of them, hit puberty they were gang raped by _official SA government personnel_. She's got a bomb in her skull in case she gets too far outta line and ain't never been paid shit. she has the clothes on her back, the blade we made her, and that's fucking it. She doesn't even own the Omni on her damn wrist."

She looked around and the room was full of people gaping, many of whom were gaping and sick. Even the council looked surprised and upset. Then they got more upset.

"Shepard's a huntress of the dark house and a sister. Unlike you hypocritical freis'til we don't tolerate people fucking with family so fix this shit or we will. _Our way_. Oh, and Shepard's bondmate, Ms. Jameson? Her real name's Miranda Lawson and she ain't much better off than Shepard. Made to be a princess and a whore, spent her childhood getting brainfucked by tutors and just plain fucked by daddy, then somehow managed to escape with her little sister and's been on the run ever since. The sick fuck calling himself her father's name is Henry Lawson. Corporate oyapo motherfucker with morals so low he makes Batarian Gri'gheir look like goddess-damned paladins. If I even _think_ he's making a move on Miranda and her sister I'll teach Shepard Asanti'Lasira for the express purpose of _nuking his ass from orbit_."

The room reeked of bile from people having puked. Even the more hardened of those present looked ill, including the trio above her.

Athyta's snarky smile reappeared and the woman jauntily tossed off "I figure Shep's owed about 30 years of backpay and bonuses. See she gets it so I can take her shopping. Clothes, a car, maybe a place to call home. Oh, and let's keep all this between us 'kay? Last thing we needs people trying to capitolize on the situation. Wouldn't want people thinking you're amoral power hungry little shitheads now, would we? Athyta Vasir, Satelie of the dark house, out bitches."

The hologram blinked off and a moment later smoke wafted out of the drive slot as the disk self destructed. The room was silent for a few seconds then Valern, unsurprisingly, erupted in indignant fury. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! Dictating terms to the council, treating us as glorified thugs, insulting us, making demands! Who does she think she is?!"

Tevos glared at the Salarian as if he'd just won the galactic idiot contest. "She's one of the deadliest entities in the galaxy, her sister is one of the undisputed top ten most lethal beings of the last thousand years, and they're both backed by hundreds more just like them. Each so powerful they make Shepard look like a Varren puppy. She's also, despite her attitude, demanding we do nothing more or less than our jobs. I don't know what you intend, but I plan on trying to do the right thing and not upsetting several thouand walking superweapons."

Sparatus, being both militant and practical as well as a connsumate bullshit artist, said "I share your distaste for matriarch Athyta's manners but councillor Tevos is correct. Ms. Vasir's attitude is infuriating but, unfortunately, all too understandable. To be frank I'm somewhat impressed. Very few sentients have the plates to do such a thing."

The bipedal gecko sputtered and huffed while the Turian turned to face her. "Shepard, your Spectre candidacy will continue. No one could've forseen a situation such as Eden Prime and while things could've gone better, they could've gone far, far worse. Since Spectre tradition is to have an operative cover issues related to their directives you'll continue to investigate the situation and it's ramifications. I do however ask, in the strogest possible terms, that you encourage your 'big sister' to behave in a more civilized manner."

As she replied "I'll see what I can do sir." she mentally snarked _Good luck with that shit._

Tevos finished things, saying "I've been directed to ask you to head to the Asari Consulate to sort out issues dealing with your citizenship. Once the bomb in your skull has been removed, which I'll see happens within the next 3 hours, I ask you head there immediately. Lastly, I'll personally order a full Spectre-backed investigation into the allegations matriarch Athyta has raised. If they're verified those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Now, since emotions are running high I suggest we adjourn for an hour before we deal with the next topic. In favor?"

Her contemporaries agreed, though one with the disgruntled air of a child caught trying to bully someone. The issue now closed, the gong sounded and the session was officially over. Udina instantly waved her and the others off to the side and activated a privacy field. That done he looked to her and said "Good work and thank you. The SAISD is a festering wound in the soul of my species and it's far past time something was done about them. Your actions in putting a spotlight on their evil has earned you both my gratitude and that of the Udina family."

He shifted to look to Williams. "You did surprisingly well, though your commentary on my... dominance of that blustering amphibian was, if understandable, somewhat gauché. I appreciate the vote of confidence however. Anderson, good work not bringing your past with Saren into this. You saved us all a great deal of trouble."

"Good. Oh, and for the record? You keep up this no-bullshit results oriented no man left behind routine and some idiot might decide to make you an honorary marine."

"I shudder at the thought." The man replied, chuckling. A few seconds later he sighed and ran a hand through his hair restlessly. "This however leaves us with what to do next and handling the fallout soon to ensue since Valern will insist on being stupid. Sergeant, Colonel, return to the Normandy and make whatever repairs are needed. Shepard, head to Huerta so you can be with your bondmate and get that bomb pulled. Once it is check in with the Asari Consulate then see what you can find out locally about the attack, geth, and Saren. If you need anything call my office and either I or my assistant will handle it."

"I'll do what I can sir."

"Excellent. Now, as I believe people say, let's move like we've got a purpose."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes!

High Dance - Asari sign language used by the nobility, mostly during formal occasions when verbal communication would be rude. It uses a combination of signs and motions to convey concepts, words, and emotion, but is rarely used outside formal occasions. Tevos does it frequently and unconsciously, but no one's gotten on her case about it since it makes her easier to monitor.

Diplomats - In the game diplomats don't really act much like Diplomats. Tevos does, but past that not really. They're too blunt, too excitable, and lacking any form of survival instinct. I won't claim to be an expert on the mindset of a diplomat but it's pretty obvious that they'd need all of the above, especially those posted to dangerous locations, just to survive much less do their jobs. So, my council's gonna be a bit different. Sure they're still selfish asshats, but Tevos and Sparatus are going to be more realistic. As for Valern, he's kind of handling a few life crisis at the moment so he's a bit on the excitable side.

Notes on Salarians in general - They think three or so times faster than most everyone else. The problem is, that puts them massively out of synch with pretty much everyone. They tend to talk too fast and over-react to things. (Ever see someone jacked up on a pot of coffee and a dozen twinkies? Like that but 24/7) They are, however, arguably the smartest of the races and while they're not the strongest, they're far from the weakest. Remember, amphibians need strength and durability to survive for long and you'd need lots of both to become the apex species of a planet. Thus, Salarians in my story aren't the squishy little comic relief jackasses they are in the game.

Military Service among the various species - All species, except humanity, have mandatory military service. Humanity's looked on as somewhat lazy or overindulgent since they don't. They're also seen as idiots since they don't get their people equipped with the best gear they can afford, instead focusing on spending as little as possible and using oversized guns and as much armor as can be slapped on whatever it is to make up the quality difference. Against the Turians that worked reasonably well. Big guns Vs. Big guns, heavy armor versus heavy armor, and two species that generally prefer to slug it out. Sure both sides had special operations units, but overall they were used to figure out where to hit the enemy so a fleet could show up and blast the living hell out of it until one side or the other took enough damage to be forced to retreat. The biggest deciding factor in the war was the ability to refit and repair. Humanity had the resources of one system at their disposal. The Turians, pretty much that of the galaxy.

As an aside, the Turian Admiral who started that war was publicly executed for incompetence and for, essentially, getting them into that entire mess over a bruised ego. So, as bad as Ash has it being a Williams, his now-disgraced family has it far far worse.

Ashley Williams - In the game she's a bit prissy, fanatically religious, and while a decent soldier her only real stand-out features are being a poetry enthusiast and romanceable. In my story however she's a real marine. She's blunt. She drinks, cusses, and carouses. Sure she's religious but she's seen too many fucked up things happen to believe 100% god's some all powerful force for good trying to guide his people to a better path. She does however believe in vows before nookie and does still like poetry. She loves cheesy old movies and is a huge evil dead/Ash fan, hence her own nickname, love of quoting the movies at people, and knowledge of zombies. She also looks like Ash from ME3 though her body's a bit scarred up from old injuries.

Donnel Udina - He's gonna have his eye on the prize, every sense he can claim looking for danger, and be one of the most adept political maneuverer's alive. His hatred of the SAISD and Shepard's being instrumental in finally getting them on the Citadel Council's shit list has earned the woman his loyalty. Which, again in my story, actually means something. He's also a master of mental disciline hence his ability to learn quickly and manipulate his own frame of mind at-will to better adapt and react to any species or situation.

The SAISD - Not happy at all, and if not for the jamming system covering Shepard until that bomb in her head goes pooftie they'd have killed her. Her family's being moved to safe houses as of the end of the meeting at the behest of the diplomatic corps and the N7's, and will be guarded by N7's while things are sorted out. They're not happy about being uprooted and relocated but they're goddamn orgasmic at the prospect of finally being out from under the SAISD's thumb. The only one not being moved is Elsa whom no one can find. In actuality Elsa's Aria's personal assassin and sometimes lover so she's damn near impossible to track down. If someone does manage to fuck with her and manages to survive it they'll be royally pissing off Aria.

Oh, and in my story sure Aria likes her couch but she's a lot more active than in the game. Goes places, does things, and makes sure people don't forget why she's the motherfucking queen of Omega.

A bit about Omega - It's the proverbial den of scum and villainy but there are some things you flat out do not do there. You don't go after noncoms, especially kids, ever. You don't get them hooked on drugs, you don't pimp them out, you don't abuse them and you don't enslave them. Break that rule and Aria will personally fuck you up so bad you'll beat your own family to death with a crowbar for giving birth to you. Someone needs to keep her little society moving and she's smart enough to know that without a support structure, civvies doing the cooking, cleaning, scut work and so on, her entire operation will go ker-plooie.

If it can defend itself however it's fair game. Drugs, sex, slavery, weapon's smuggling, organlegging, illegal tech, you name it, she's getting a percentage. Another rule of hers is you don't screw people on a deal. Sure, you can con them or screw them on the _terms_ of a deal, but the moment you agree to that deal you either hold up your end or she'll explain the words 'Following through on your obligations' to you by ripping out your intestines and hanging you from the nearest street light with 'em. Also, you do not fuck with Omega itself. No damaging the station's systems, no hacking it's systems. You break that one and you get stripped, beaten, and then tossed out an airlock while dosed on 'Stretch'. Lastly, she personally runs the Omega sector Eezo mining operation. It's one reason she doesn't let people fuck with noncoms, though she does have others.

Shepard and Aria - Introduced to her by Elsa, Aria, who for personal reasons hates children being abused, swore that Omega would be a safe haven for Shepard's sisters. The SAISD doesn't go to Omega at all. Their agents get sniffed out pretty much instantly and are publicly tortured, then what's left gets mailed back to the SA government's headquarters still alive... technically. Their minds are a burned to shit jumble because of Aria's 'Worse than an Ardat Yakshi' thing I mentioned a while back. I won't say what that is yet, but when I do people're gonna be having an 'Oh Snap' moment.

Timmy and Cerberus - Still in the background, mostly they're keeping an eye on things and waiting to see which way things go before getting actively involved. Timmy's proud of Shepard though, and is preening a bit that his 'wayward girl' as Kelly puts it is suddenly so instrumental in bettering humanity's status in the galaxy at large.

The Shadow Broker - He'll be getting involved soon and when he does, well, it ain't gonna be like in the games or in other people's fics. I'm going a whole other direction with him and people're gonna be floored when they find out what it is.

Next chapter Shopping! Athyta's tears! Vakarian!


	10. Chapter 10

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 10

Shepard looked around as she left the Asari consulate. Now an official citizen of the Asari Republic and, technically, a minor noble. She also had 30 years of backpay complete with combat and hazard bonuses not to mention, as some administrator's fuck you to the powers that be, the estimated cost of her creation.

She wasn't sure how to process her suddenly expansive bank balance.

She was still trying to do that when a familiar voice called out "Hey kid! Get your mini-me ass in here. Got work to do, remember?"

She sighed and jogged over to Athyta's car, then dropped in and said "I thought we were going to visit Miri first."

"She's still in a medically induced coma. Itchy?"

She suppressed the urge to poke at the glued-shut incision in the back of her head. The bomb had been removed and according to the docs all that'd be left to remember it by would be a thin scar. "Yeah."

"So, whaddya wanna get first? Clothes? Car?"

"I never had a place to call home before so a condo or something? Now that I can get one Elsa told me I'd be an idiot to pass it up."

"Smart girl. Checked up on her. Scary little shithead. So, a place to come back to eh? Know just the spot if you've got 250K to spare. Cliffside property, 4 bedroom, 5 bathroom main house, 2 bedroom 3 bath detached for staff or annoying guests, and all the essentials. Even has a milspec omni-fab unit. Half the year it's prone to storms but the other half... fuckin beautiful lemme tell ya. Great place to go when you need to just chill out and it's on the outskirts of our lands so you won't need to worry about party crashers. If you want I can do a quick meld, show you the place, and you can think about it."

It did sound perfect, but that was the problem. It was perfect. _Nothing_ was perfect, and the closer it got the higher the price. Still, from what she'd heard it was impossible to lie through a meld and Athyta had absolutely zero reasons to do it. That and her gut said 'Go for it'. She lifted a hand and it was grasped.

There was that yanking sensation again then she was standing in a borderline estate faced by a huge house to one side and jagged black cliffs of onyx-like stone to the other. A clear sky, liquid thunder and gusts of mist as waves crashed semi rhythmically. The smell of pristine ocean water and chilled wet air.

Next to her was an Asari she didn't recognize but something from across the meld 'said' Benezia. Hope, mischief, lust. A quick tour of the house and grounds that skipped in a few places followed. She didn't bother asking why since it was pretty obvious. Everything really was perfect, but the reason Athyta was willing to part with it for a potentially lowball price was also more than obvious. The place was a reminder of her now-lost bondmate and memories that hurt more than any knife could.

She'd never been good at sympathy, her trainers had done everything they could to beat it out of her, but faced by this even she felt sick. The link cut off and she pretended she couldn't see her mentor's eyes were bright with unshed tears.

After a minute she said "I'll take good care of it."

"Thanks kid. That... means a lot."

"Family shares pain." She noted with a shrug.

"Yeah."

They flew on in silence and she decided to do like she would with one of her sisters. Change the topic to something they liked. "So, you said something about redoing my image?"

Athyta shot her an 'I know what you're doing' look, then sighed. After a curt chuckle the woman said "Yep. Dark House has a condo for sisters visiting the citadel that's near a few malls. Great for supplies, simple shopping and dissappearing. We can head there, you can use the guest bedroom to shower and change into something a bit less military while I hit the bar for some liquid fortitide."

"Drinking won't help."

Her mentor glared at her, biotic fire flickering on the controls as her self control slipped. "Don't think you know what's best for me kid. You ain't... "

She interrupted the woman with her own glare and said "The reason my sisters named me Shepard's because I looked out for them when no one else would. I listened when they didn't want to talk. Gave them a shoulder to cry on when they were terrified of tears. When Elsa, who could kill me without blinking tried to drown herself in Rhynchol and black sand after someone she loved was killed by organleggers I was fucking _there_ for her. The first time I died was when I pushed her into losing her shit so she could vent on something besides herself. I never lifted a finger, even when she hit me with a fucking warp that near took me down to the bones. Eight months in an ICU burn ward, another 7 in physical therapy. It's how the SAISD found us again, and know what? I'd do it all over again because she's _family_."

Athyta glared at her furiously for a solid five minutes, then grimaced. "You are one _giant_ pain in the ass. You know that right?"

"So I've heard. Frequently."

"Yeah, well... thanks." Her mentor took a few moments to just breathe, then said "So, shopping. Clothes first, then I know a hairstylist that can do something with that funky 2-tail thingy you've got going on. What's with that anyways? Never seen the hairstyle before."

She grimaced. "It's the only part of my childhood that was remotely normal and it reminds me of... better times."

"Ah."

"I don't suppose these shops have armored clothing?"

"Don't worry kid. I know a tech that can do a flame-resistant coating, add in some subtle ballistic gel backing and a micro shield generator. Thanks to him I have a Ri'ial dress with better protection than most people's full bore military armor. Toss in a concealed holster for a gun, same for a knife, and you'll be good to go."

The thought she wouldn't be unarmed and unarmored helped. Then she noticed Athyta appeared to be both. If her mentor was anything like her...

"Colossus-class shields, a customized carnifex-C, three resonance throwing knives, and a couple micro grenades." The woman said, shooting her a grin.

The fact that even with her training and experience she couldn't see any of that, not from bulge, odd cloth hang, or body language was impressive if worrying.

"Like some music?"

She shook her head. "Conceals background noise."

"Relax kid. Anything gets near us I'll pick it up. Thousand years of frontline and shadow work remember?"

"Why do you talk like a human half the time?"

"You kidding? Humans are a blast to meld with. They're like a rainbow with a billion and one colors. Krogan, once you get past the initial shift in mentality ain't much fun. Salarians... shit. They're like trying to catch up to someone in a race car on foot. Hanar, they're surprisingly diverse. Some are light, some are shadow, most are really just glorified jellyfish. My first bondmate was of the light variety, though that's like saying a star makes a nice luma. Elcor are pointless. Drell are decent though and damn but they can kiss. Of course their body excretions are essentially super hallix but that ain't always a bad thing. Turians, ugh. The normal ones are like trying to screw a tank. All business and hard lines, no creativity. The ferals though... they can be fun if you find one that ain't got the proverbial stick up the ass."

"Quarians?"

"Sad, before and after the Geth. Most of 'em have no real sense of happiness, only a duty to those around them that's so selfless people never really get a sense of self. Now they're even worse and they're riding a perpetual rage high."

The matriarch sighed, shook her head, then said "Anyways, you meld with someone and you can pick up a few things. Manners, ideas, pet peeves and, in my case, slang."

"Get anything from your bondmate?"

Her mentor shot her a 'Drop it' look. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, then they arrived at their destination and got to work. After doing the datawork and shelling out for the house Athyta badgered her into hitting an online government auction for a car. In a bit of serendipity they had the same model as the commandant's car and it even had light armor. It was a bit pricey though, and it more than dented her remaining finances. When Athyta heard why she was interested, and after she stopped laughing, her mentor had said go for it.

Changing her image, as her 'sister' called it, was hell. No weapons. No armor. Athyta grousing about her body and the massive number of scars all but covering it, 'suggesting' she see a dermatologist for some corrective surgery when she could spare the time. Having to stand under a laser as someone shot her from the neck down, then figuring out how to put on the equivalent of a false-flesh wetsuit followed by hours of going store to store, bumbling around back rooms in tight quarters.

Getting her hair styled was damn near terrifying. Some civvie she didn't know wielding razor sharp blades and unidentifiable slime cutting parts of her off and chattering mindlessly. Makeup she said hell no to however. It was one thing to wear stupid clothes or get her hair refurb'd, but no way in hell was she smearing chemical shit all over her face trying to look good for people she'd quite happily see sprawled on the ground in a pool of their own blood.

The only part of it all she _didn't_ hate was that trip to the tech. He was as good as promised and the deathtraps she'd been badgered into buying were upgraded to the point they were damn near as good as N7 armor. He even managed to hide it all well enough you actually needed to look for the changes.

When it was done however, and she looked in a mirror, it literally took her a second to realize she was seeing herself.

Athyta had laughed and asked " _Now_ you see what I've been trying to get through that thick skull of yours? You don't look like old-you. This's the _new_ you and you can make that person in the mirror anything you want."

She'd been checking out the kitchen, a wide open space bigger than a lot of bunkrooms she'd lived in, when her omni chimed.

She tapped answer and Anderson's face appeared on the display. He did a double-take, then grinned. "Matriarch Athyta, if you're there you've worked a miracle."

"Tell me something I don't know Sandy!" Her mentor replied with a laugh.

"Remind me to kick Ahern." Her CO grumbled. "Anyways, thought I'd let you know the Normandy's getting back up to spec ahead of schedule. A bit better in some respects actually. I suggest you get your investigation going. Council's probably getting annoyed, Udina sure as hell is, and I wanna be good to go by the time your bondmate gets outta the hospital."

"Aye sir. Already got a potential lead."

"Good. Anderson out."

The display blinked off and she started to head to the closet she kept her new armor and weapons in but Athyta blocked her off. "You're just gonna be asking a few people some questions, remember? Psychotic bitch from the depths guide to life lesson number two. Look like you're ready for a fight, chances are you'll get into one. Look like you're there to mix and mingle, chances are the only thing you'll need to deal with's people making passes as you and the occasional vorcha-brained mugger."

Seeing her continued hesitation Athyta added "People won't wanna talk to you. Informants will avoid you. Cops, on the other hand, will follow you around like feral varren after a steak just waiting for you to do something they can shoot you for. They'll check your ID and permits every 50 meters too. In short, not that you can do anything but short, you won't get shit done. Besides, you're a biotic remember? Only way to disarm you's to put you into a coma."

Scowling, she nodded as Athyta said "I'm gonna make sure we're stocked up on the essentials, do up a guest room for Miranda, shit like that. 'Sides, I ain't exactly popular around here so less people have to deal with me, less chance I'll have to deal with them."

-^V^- -^V^-

According to C-Sec (Who'd balked at her demands for information until she called Spectre headquarters and sicc'd them on the pompous idiots) officer Vakarian was headed to a clinic in the wards investigating something about a Quarian some local thug wanted dead. Normally she wouldn't give a shit, but it was a thug with spectre connections.

As she approached the front door to the place she heard someone snarl "Tell us where the suit rat is or I'll pop your kneecaps!"

She crouched, pulled her gun from her hip pack, and ducked inside. Thankfully the doors barely made any sound when they moved. She hit the lock for the door leading to the back with a touch of warp fire, then sniffed at the air and followed the scents of adrenaline and fear. She poked her head around the corner to the main low-risk exam room and spotted several things instantly. 4 goons, all in rumpled clothes. One doctor, redhead, being roughed up. In the shadows across the room was a Turian in heavy C-Sec armor.

She motioned to him and he froze. She pointed to herself and the two on the right, then him and the two on the left. He nodded and she held up three fingers, then counted down.

When she hit zero she popped around the corner and shot one goon in the head, the other in the arm. Her first target dropped with absolutely everything above his shoulders splattered on the far wall and on fire. Target two collapsed to the ground screaming minus his gun arm, the scent of seared meat filling the air instantly.

To her mild surprise the cop did much the same to his targets and then pointed his gun at her. "C-Sec! Drop the weapon!"

"Run my ID."

A moment later his gun lowered and, bemused, he asked "A human Spectre? What're you doing here dropping no-name idiots?"

"Looking for you. We're on related cases."

He blinked, caught her meaning, and nodded. "Good, hopefully working with you'll clear up the red tape."

"Why don't you make sure the doc's okay while I ask our buddy here a few informative questions."

He seemed to pick up on the fact she wasn't going to ask nicely and walked over to the still-frozen doctor. "C'mon Dr. Michelle. Let's go into the other room and make sure they didn't hurt you."

"I... you were so fast and... ohmigod..."

She ignored the woman dashing over to a nearby trash can, then waited while the Turian wiped the puke from her chin and guided her out of the room. The guy she'd de-limbed was clutching the cauterized stump where he'd had a shoulder and gaping in deep shock.

She stepped on his chest to get his attention and pointed her gun at his other shoulder. "I'm going to ask you a few questions. You're going to answer. Fuck with me and I'll take off the other arm. Then your legs, then, if you insist on pissing me off, I'll grab a laser scalpel and peel your skin off."

"Wh...whaddya wa.. oh god I'm going to die!"

"Answer fast and I'll call EMS. Who sent you?"

"Fist! There's a Quarian girl, has some kinda top secret data!"

"Who hired Fist to kill her?"

"I dunno! Some spook guy I think! Fist never says and you don't ask if you wanna live!"

"Who might know where she is?"

"Team two! If the Quarian contacted the boss before we did they were gonna set up a fake meet!"

"Where?"

"Alleyway behind Nivarrik Arcade!"

"Vakarian! Know where that is?" She called out.

"Couple blocks from here! Dr. Michelle says she left a few minutes ago!"

"Fuck! Haul ass!"

She reloaded her gun as she jogged out to the lobby and he was already calling in a C-Sec response team. Once they'd made sure the doc would be safe they started running.

-^V^- -^V^-

Tali walked forward slowly and warily. Ever since getting to the station things had gone from bad to worse. She might be a bit nieve, but she wasn't stupid so she had every sensor in her suit on at full power, a dozen omni-apps ready to fire off, and a hand near her Phalanx.

Thus spotting the four men ahead before they saw her wasn't much of a problem. One Salarian, two humans, one Turian. All but the Salarian were in normal street clothes and lightly armed, though their weapons weren't readied. The Salarian was in light combat armor and had a lot of weapons. Grenades, a PDW, a pistol, and what she was sure was a military grade omni. None readied, but they had her instincts screaming 'Danger'.

She'd have turned and left but even she knew running from the broker didn't make one _nervous_. It made one _dead_.

She grimaced, triple checked her weapons were ready just in case, then walked around a stack of trash bags and asked "You guys from Hardhand Salvage?"

"Yeah. You from Ray Yatzee CS?"

"Yes. What's going on? Why're people shooting at me?"

"You may have stumbled across extremely sensative and thus valuable information. The broker's willing to pay you 500K creds, here and now, for all copies."

That was a lot of money. Enough she could get a used shuttle in decent condition and have a solid pilgrimage gift. She was about to say yes when she spotted two thermal/metal signatures in the shadows behind the broker's people sneaking towards them. Bizzarly one of them, an armored Turian, was waving at her to take cover.

Knowing when to take a hint she dove behind a nearby trash bin. The moment she started moving the Salarian reacted, grabbing at the grenades on his belt while one of the newcomers called out "C-Sec! Drop the weapons and put your hands in the air!"

She hit the ground, rolled to her feet while grabbing her Rheegar, and just stared for a moment when the grenades were thrown only to be shot out of the air by two thundering booms so close together they almost sounded like one. A flare of heat lit the area as his shields collapsed in one hit and the shockwave staggered them all.

She recovered and snarled "BOSH'TET!" as she aimed her shotgun and fired. The stream of superheated plasma hit the Salarian in the chest and burned a hole clear through him. Another boom sounded at the same time followed by 2 kak's from a pistol. The human's heads exploded and the Turian went down minus his gun arm screaming in pain. She could hear the harsh sizzle of flesh frying and almost threw up.

Managing to remember to set her shotgun down, she raised her hands and waited while the Turian and a human dressed for a night of bar hopping walked out of the shadows. The female did the introductions. "Spectre Shepard and officer Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec special investigations. Name?"

"Tali'Zorah Nar'Rayya."

"You recently acquired some exotic data, correct?"

"Um, yes ma'am."

"Where and what?"

"Crivisis colony, or what's left of it. I went there with some salvagers. Geth attacked, killed most of the crew and disabled the ship. I managed to hide and hacked one as it passed. I got a few audio clips but not much."

"Any of them mention someone named Saren?"

She blinked. "One of them, yeah."

"Perfect. Vakarian, mind if I do a quick question and answer session then have a squad escort her to the Normandy so no one else takes a shot at her?"

"Works for me. I'll call the station, tell 'em to hold off a few minutes."

The woman nodded and he walked off a few paces. That done the Spectre booted up her omni and said "I'm gonna record this so we only have to do it once, okay? Then I'm going to call my ship and have a squad of marines escort you there. The doctor will give you proper medical care and you'll be safe from attack."

"Do I get a choice?"

"Sure, but do you really wanna stick around without someone covering your back?"

"Um, good point." She readied herself, then said "Go ahead."

A dozen questions later the human nodded. "Perfect. Vakarian, you done?"

"Yeah. Want me to post guard while you call your people?"

"Please."

Shepard walked off, talked to someone on her omni, then returned. "15 minutes and I'll have a squad fronted by my best here to take you to my ship Ms. Zorah. Relax and take a breather."

She sagged and sat down on a shipping crate. "Thanks."

"No problem. Is that an Asari Acolyte?"

She blinked and looked down at the odd white pistol on her hip. "Um, I think so. Why?"

"It for sale?"

She blinked again, then nodded. "Yeah. I was hoping I could get enough to get a ride somewhere safe."

"You're underpricing yourself kid. That sucker's worth 25K creds empty."

"It's got one round left I think."

"30 then. If you think I might be shortchanging you feel free to check the extranet."

She did and stared at the results. The human wasn't _under_ pricing her, she was actually _over_ paying slightly.

"Um, sure, I can do that."

"Gimmie a sec to do the cred transfer." A few moments later her omni chimed with an incoming bank transfer. She looked, goggled, then handed the gun over. "Thanks! For that much I can get a new suit! A good one!"

"Heard worse ideas."

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard watched as Ash and squad two left in a cab, the kid kinda squished in the back flanked by two heavily armored marines. Once they were gone Vakarian said "You were trying to pay for that info without being obvious about it, weren't you?"

"I do the right thing when I can."

"Good. I wish more people had an attitude like that. What about the one you crippled?"

"Gonna ask him where Fist is."

"No need, I already know. Shithole called Chora's Den."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes!

Tali!

In game they never say how long she's been on pilgrimage. If it's been a few months however, even a few weeks, she won't be the utterly clueless kid that's in the game. She's been essentially world-hopping with no fixed source income and no one to cover her back. That'll rip the innosence out of someone fast, so my Tali's a bit more worldly. She's still young, she's not a hardcase, she's a kid that's been through some shit just trying to make her way through the galaxy that gets swept up in a galactic trainwreck. She's a great hacker, good with a shotgun, knows basic hand to hand, and knows how to survive.

Also, in game Quarians don't seem to get prepared for their pilgrimages. They just get kicked out the door and told to go find something cool enough they'll let you back in. That makes no sense. A species as diminished as the Quarians can't afford to waste people like that. So, people intending to go walkabout get prepared for it. Fighting, surival, how to make money, how to spend it wisely, people that might help, people to avoid, stuff like that.

Quarian Suits!

In the game a few things always bugged me about Quarian suits. One, why're their faceplates blacked out? There's no reason to do it and no reason given. So, in my fic, their faceplates are transparent most of the time and only polarized when needed. Also, they have these high tech suits that don't seem to have anything actually high tech in them. Especially considering they have to do repairs on ships frequently, their Omni's have to be top quality to help with that, sensors so they can pinpoint what's wrong faster and more accurately, they'd have major shields since they can't really bulk up on the armor like other species, and they'd need the ability to go into deep space since a lot of ship repairs would have to be done there. In short, they wouldn't be walking around in glorified life support suits. There's also no reason given for why Quarian male's suits are so different than the females. Will mine be? Yep, but not that much and there'll be reasons given for the differences.

Therefore Tali's suit's gonna have a small but powerful sensor suite. Reinforced construction. Better organized pockets and pouches. A high quality omni plus a larger than standard reservior of omni gel that'll auto-seal suit ruptures. Deployable omni-armor and reinforced shields. A transparent faceplate, and no silly glowing speaker in her helmet. It'll have better com capabilities too. The only real visual difference from the game would be a slightly bulkier suit, 'Utility Belt' style pouches around her waist, and of course the ability to see her face.

Quarian Government!

Think of them like the United States. Each ship's a city, each fleet's a state, and the admiralty board's the federal government. The Admiralty Board is a democratic system that, once a decision is reached, has total dictatorial control. Ships have to cooperate on resources deployment and defense, but are otherwise run however their captains see fit. Captains also have absolute power in their ships, excepting common laws and when the Admiralty gets involved.

Also, there are several Quarian Colonies still working. Why? In the game they say specifically that the Geth stopped persuing the moment the Quarians were out-system. Colonies in other solar systems shouldn't have been force-evacuated so why were they? Answer for me? They weren't, though they did consolidate things and focus on mining and food production. Each colony is, governmentally speaking, much like a ship and while the liveships also produce food, they also work as flying parks where people can relax, get some fresh air, hang out with friends and family, de-suit and spend some time in actual clothes, swim in artificial lakes, etc.

There are several 'ranks' in Quarian society. Other than in a few details it's not really official, but it is a cultural mandate. There's basic citizens who do all the scut work and live pretty simple lives. Then there's upper class citizens who can vote on things, have actual input into governmental matters, and so on. They have to work harder and prove themselves for a decade or so before they get 'promoted' however. Higher ranking than them are those who've returned. In short, Quarians who've gone out on pilgrimage, found something worth bringing back, and then returned. Not many do it since when a pilgim's getting ready to leave their family is expected to help out with gear and so on. Only people of this rank are eligable to be Captains, Admirals, and members of the Admiralty. Those who die on pilgrimage are known as the lost, and those who just don't return are called wanderers and are outcasts. Then of course there's captains, who are the backbone of fleet governance. Over them are the Admirals, who are either fleet commnders or top level experts who've proven themselves talented, smart, and reliable, with unmatched skills. As of Mass Effect 1 there's only a dozen admirals in total.

Quarian Misc!

Ships are all heavily built, heavily modified, and REALLY heavily defended. That whole bit in ME3 where everyone's so anxious to get the Quarians to join up? Sure they had a big fleet, but other than the heavies and liveships they were really just glorified freighters. So, I'm changing that. All ships will have a solid number of weapons for self defense. The scout fleet has heavier weapons, and the heavy fleet has frickin artillery.

Also, the Quarians would obviously need to trade for supplies and so on but where were they doing it? Not on a liveship. Those are too valuable and essential to risk. Not on a freight ship, they'd need every cubic millimeter for supplies. Not on a scout ship either. Too small, even more storage issues. Military ships are also a huge hell naw. Thus, a couple flying space malls where Quarians can buy and sell, or just trade, with people visiting the fleet. Security on and near it's heavy and anyone causing problem, as Javiik would suggest, gets kicked out an airlock.

There are businesses, such as Rheegar Armaments, who's main claim to fame is Rheegar shotguns. Calling those things carbines was asnine. They were esentially auto shotguns with super high rates of fire and that's how I'm gonna treat 'em. There are others but I'll worry about them when I need to.

Athyta's comments about Shepard's height - Shepard's actually really short. Five foot 2, to be exact. Think still-femine athletics model, shrink 'em, and toss in red haire with a perpetual case of pigtails. Gold eyes, slightly enlarged canines, naturally sharp fingernails and toenails, and a lot of scars, though her head is mostly intact since Cindy tends to overbuild helmets. As for Shepard's 'daily driver' civvies, imagine gloria's outfit from devil may cry 4, mix in a futuristic version of soul calibur 5's isabella valentine's outfit minus the armor, make it more flirty/elegant, toss on a matching hip pack, and you'll have the general idea.

Next Chapter, the formation of the Three Musketeers!


	11. Chapter 11

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 11

Shepard blinked as her omni chimed. She took a moment to check the caller ID then answered it. "What's up?"

"Hey kid." Athyta's familiar face greeted her as it appeared. "Got a friend I think's working the same shitfest you are. Flapface with a cane, right?"

She blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. Who and why?"

"Krogan Warmaster named Wrex. Guy that sells darkness wanted him to say goodbye to some idiot named after your punching appendage."

Translation, the shadow broker wanted Fist dead and his agent was looking for an invite to the party. Keyword scanning was also in play so watch what she said on an unencrypted line.

She'd normally say hell no but he was a warmaster. The Krogan equivalent of an N7 and then some. On top of that he was close enough to Athyta they were on a first name basis and she was willing to give him help when he needed it. As resume's went, there weren't many better.

She checked maps of fast food restaraunts in the area near Chora's den, then picked one and messaged it to her mentor. "Have him meet us there with my field case. Can't use my biotics yet without risking frying my brain like bacon."

"Will do. Good luck kid."

Next to her, Vakarian asked "We're stopping for food before a fight?"

"Got a major case of brain burn and I'm still healing from what caused it."

"Which was?"

She looked at him and stated "I blew up most of a space station with my brain."

"What in the ancestor's names were you doing?!" He exclaimed incredulously.

"Obliterating evil." She replied simply.

-^V^- -^V^-

Having just downed a hearty bowl of vaguely asian noodles, she watched as the biggest damn Krogan she'd ever seen, standing the better part of 2.5 meters tall and probably massing a solid half ton, walked up and nodded to them.

"Shepard."

"Wrex." She motined to the Turian next to her and said "Officer Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec special investigations."

"Not worried about him trying to arrest us?"

"Nope. I'm a Spectre trainee and you just got hired."

"Huh. What's your angle?"

"The target has information and evidence vital to my case. His operation's Vakarian's case so he's here to clear it one way or another. Deal's simple. We go in, clear it out, Vakarian and I interrogate the virulent little shit, and then he's all yours. Pay's all the Rhynchol in the place once we're done and any pickups you decide you can't live without."

"Works for me. Here's your gear. I wanna handle this before his boss finds out I'm after one of his ash lickers."

She nodded, grabbed her bag, and headed into the restaraunt's bathroom to change. When she emerged she felt almost normal. Armor covering her vitals, weapons ready to use secured to her person, and an objective to see done. A belly full of decent food, and no one in the command structure turning the situation into a total clusterfuck.

As far as she was concerned she had the essentials of life.

"Now THAT's a gun!" The Turian exclaimed, eying the 12-guage hanging from a shoulder on a 1-point sling.

She shrugged and motioned towards their destination. "C'mon."

Getting to Chora's took all of five minutes of walking, mostly through back alleys, until they stopped in sight of the double doors leading inside. She didn't say anything, she simply pointed to Vakarian, then to a cover spot, and repeated it with Wrex. Both did as instructed and she got down on the ground about 5 meters in front of the place, activated an omni-shield and a PA app, then called out "Citadel office of Special Tactics and Recon! As of now everyone in Chora's den is under arrest! If you want to live, put down your weapons and exit the bar with your hands in the air! Anyone not doing so will be executed as a threat to public safety! You have 30 seconds!"

A voice snarled "20,000 credits to the man who kacks that bitch!"

With no further warning gunfire erupted, instantly shredding the doors and the walls near them. Her omni shield barely flickered however since almost none of those shots were at ground level.

Once the volume of fire died down she called out "Stunner!" and chucked a flashbang through a hole. There was a blast of light and a shockwave a couple seconds later. She was on her feet and charging into the bar a split second later as the optics in her helmet cleared.

The moment she was through the doors she dove to the side, eyes scanning the room for targets and positions. She heard the distinctive HssssKAK of a biotic barrier going up then what was left of the doors, as well as the upper frame of same, were ripped out of the wall as Wrex stormed into the place with Vakarian behind him.

Sight/acquire/fire/boom/crunchsplat. Turian with a Reaver SAW staggering and falling to the floor, the majority of his chest cavity pulped to mushy alien salsa.

A sniper atop a dancer's platform staggered and fell to the ground minus his head as the cop's pistol fired.

Two men, a human in heavy armor and a salarian using a 'walking wall' omni shield, literally splashed as the Krogan's weapon thundered. A flaming hole appeared in the wall behind the two and she heard things shattering beyond that.

Two men, cover behind a table. Switch fire mode, rack slide, sight/acquire/fire/boomWHAM. Table shattering, men thrown back injured and dazed.

Two more cracks as the cop fired, both men dying instantly to yet more headshots.

A thug fell to the floor screaming as fiery blue sludge flew through the air and turned him into a fast-dissolving human matchstick.

The four survivors of their assault threw their weapons down and their hands in the air.

It didn't help.

-^V^- -^V^-

Fist couldn't help staring in shock as the oddest trio of attacker's he'd ever seen ripped through his entire operation like batarian slavers at a class-D colony highschool. People were dying so fast he couldn't keep track, and defenses he'd expected to hold off a full C-Sec extreme operations assault group were crushed by three people with light weapons. The cop didn't even have a damn rifle, just a customized predator pistol he was impossibly accurate with.

He almost laughed when they got to the storeroom and the janitors, both cowering on the floor in mindlessly blubbering fetal balls, were knocked out by a few swift kicks and one casual backhand. Not before pointing out the entrance to the hidden warehouse where he stored all his best toys though. Guns, explosives, drugs, tech, a ghost clinic for doing illegal surgery, and the camouflaged truck used to move it all around.

Not to mention the office with him in it.

To his confusion the three didn't press their attack however. They spread out and started searching. What for he had no idea, but to stop mid-assault to look for something it had to be massively important.

Greed kick-started his brain and he slapped the 'automated defenses' control on the security board before him. He heard the two heavy cannon, both 'liberated' from MAKO turrets, slammed up out of their armored housings and raised their shields.

He sudenly felt a lot better about his odds. Sure he'd lost damn near everything, but those three weren't geared up to assault a 50 meter long corridor with no cover and a couple VI-Operated turrets sporting antivehicular weapons and IFV-level shelds. It'd be flat out suicide, even for them.

Grabbing a beer out of the mini fridge hidden in his desk, he popped it open and watched as his attackers looked for whatever it was they were after. A minute later he cursed when the Turian lifted a sniper rifle that'd cost him a solid 50K creds out of an armored case. An M29S Incisor that'd been modded to fire one big round instead of three small ones and could punch through damn near anything in it's way. Barriers, omni-plating, shields, even light cover. Losing that to an evidence locker would be the biggest waste of money since credit lines at casinos.

Then the cop held it up and asked "Hey! Can I keep this?"

"Sure. It's not like Fist's gonna need it." the woman replied, pausing as she opened a crate full of 25mm shell launchers.

"This just became the best day of my life." The man exclaimed, cuddling it like a deadly teddy bear.

"Hah!"

-^V^- -^V^-

Wrex couldn't help grinning as he searched for anything worth the trouble of listening to C-Sec bitch about it. The fact the entire assault had gone off smooth as lube on sheet glass was a mood booster too. Almost enough he didn't feel like he had a target painted on his plate.

The Turian had proven to be unexpectedly good and one of the best pistol shots he'd seen in a long damn time. Smart too. Enough to know the difference between survivable and stupid, with enough skill backing it up to make what most people considered stupid possible. Would've made a hell of a merc.

The woman though, she was interesting. Healing from what Athyta had described as 'A fucking mess' with a major case of brain burn, and she'd _still_ annihilated everything stupid enough to get in her way with that huge (For her, though she was kinda tiny so that wasn't saying much) shotgun. Damn thing hit near as hard as a for-Krogan Cl'v Mrr Rakt't and she was a fucking _artist_ with it. He could see why her mentor, one of the oldest and most feared names in the business, said she had 'potential'.

He looked up as the cop asked "Hey! Can I keep this?"

In his hands was a sniper rifle. Heavy duty one too, had to be worth a year's salary. Maybe two.

"Sure. It's not like Fist's gonna need it."

"This just became the best day of my life."

He laughed. The kid had good taste in weapons even if his chosen career was stupid.

Then he paused as he heard the sounds of nearby machinery slamming into place. A moment later the scents of burned ozone and hot lube wafted into his sinuses. He turned to the woman to warn her and blinked when he saw her faceplate was open and she was sniffing the air.

"He just deployed turrets." She declared.

He nodded as the Turian's manner shifted from happy to dead serious faster than a Salarian could blink. "Big ones, with heavy shields." He added. "Scent's too strong for infantry systems. Military salvage?"

"Probably, and I'd put money they're covering a killzone."

"No bet." the cop put in. "He'd have saved the best for himself. Considering the crap in here... "

"Agreed. Ideas?"

"Any drones?"

"Not that I've seen."

"Homing grenades?" he asked, drawing looks from the two. "Set 'em for thermal tracking, toss a bunch of 'em around the corner, and you could swarm his defenses."

"I've got two." she stated. "They're EMP resistant so if we can find some zappers we can drop his defenses long enough to nuke 'em to hell."

He nodded. It was a solid plan. From the Turian's grin the kid approved it too. "Spread out and look for EMP or arc surge charges."

It took them a few minutes of rooting through the warehouse's contents but they managed to locate a crate of arc grenades.

"Here's the plan." the unit's nominal leader declared. "I go low with the homing grens. Wrex, you go high. Bounce a few off the walls down the hall and take those fuckers down. Vakarian, rearguard in case reinforcements show up. If it's C-Sec tell em to back off. This's a Spectre op so no interference, no reports, and enjoy the lighter workload."

"On it." The man declared, nodding before jogging off.

She looked at him and said "In position and on three."

He followed her to the hallway, then stepped over her as she knelt and readied herself. They primed their munitions and she nodded to him. Once. Twice. Three/THROW!

He flicked the grenades, two per hand since his were huge and they weren't, around the corner. There was a thundering BOOOMBOOMBOOM sound as heavy cannon fired, then a loud KKKKak! snap-pop as they went off. The guns were silenced instantly and the woman at his knees popped out of cover, threw her own grenades, and ducked back behind cover in under a second. There was a hissssswhooshBOOM as they hovered for a moment, found their targets, and launched themselves towards it.

He watched as Shepard stuck what looked like an optical cable around the corner, then said "Defenses go bye-bye."

He couldn't help laughing as she stood and motioned for him to follow.

Yeah, this was gonna be _fun_.

-^V^- -^V^-

Kelly Chambers was not a woman that was prone to fear. The things she'd seen, the things she'd done, they either burned it out of you fast ot burned you out fast. The ability to make those hard decisions and sleep at night was one reason, her top of the scale IQ and looks being two others, she'd risen to second in command of one of the most dangerous organizations in the galaxy.

Telling her superior/idol/research subject/lover they'd all missed an outright life-changing development in his 'wayward girl's life?

 _That_ was worth getting ones panties in a bunch over.

She walked into his office, an expansive armor-glass room with no features save it's transparent construction, endlessly shifting holographic displays, and him in his chair. Usually with a snifter of expensive whisky in one hand and a 2,000 cred-a-stick cigar in the other.

Without turning to face her he said "Kelly. Report."

How he could see who was behind him she had no idea. The walls were nonreflective and there were no cams to link to.

"Jack. A situation's come up regarding Shepard."

He paused, then drew on his cigar for a moment before puffing out a gust of silvery smoke. "What'd she do this time?"

"Get married." She replied warily.

"Jessica Jameson, correct?"

She blinked, then nodded. "Yessir."

"It's not a romantic move on her part then. It's a protective one."

"Sir?"

He motioned to a display off to the side. "Without Shepard's protection she'd have likely vanished into someone's lab for analysis and subsequent execution or been sold back to her father for brainwipe and reprogramming."

As always his ability to pull in, collate, and connect informational esoteria near-instantaneously impressed her. In less than a second he'd figured out what it'd taken the analysts detailed to keeping an eye on Shepard's situation, all of them some of the best in the business, a solid half hour to pick up on. Unfortunately, in this case he was missing a crucial piece of information that changed the entire equation.

"I'd normally agree sir, but there's pretty undeniable proof it's more than that."

He paused again, then flicked a hand at a side display. It shifted to their most recent data on Shepard, including saving Ms. Jameson's life, then security footage of her trying to kill a member of the crew, and very nearly suceeding, while in a coma. More displays blinked to new feeds as the data sphere on the man's daughter expanded until, to her surprise, he chuckled.

"Sir?"

"It seems fate is sticking a hand in to stir the pot Kelly. Make sure to factor in Ms. Lawson in anything regarding Shepard until further notice. Oh, and let our allies know she's under our protection. Message her father the same, and add that with the impassioned involvement of both Shepard and matriarch Athyta going anywhere near either Lawson sister would be guaranteed suicide."

He was silent a moment, then added "Put together a new cell with our best medical personnel. Code name Crow, dedicated to the sole goal of ensuring Shepard's next death is no more permanent than the others have been. Shepard's now too well placed and too influential to risk losing to madness or a morgue. Also I want you, personally, working on repairing or at least buffering her mental issues."

She nodded, relieved. "Yessir. If it's not... volatile, you seem pretty blasé about it."

At that he turned to face her and offered one of his rare smiles. "This is likely Shepard's lone chance at happiness Kelly. I'd be a cruel man indeed to in any way abuse or hinder it."

She couldn't help a smile. "I'll cut the orders immediately."

"Perfect. Oh, and schedule the evening off. I do believe it's tradition to celebrate one's child getting hitched."

"I know just the place."

He nodded and returned to his endless data feeds without another word.

As she left, already planning things out, she was still smiling. Not just that she was going to be wined, dined, and made love to but at confirmation of his favorite, if too often debated, saying.

He was a hard man, but he wasn't a monster.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard looked around as Wrex led her into what claimed to be 'Barla Von Financial'. The office was high class and surprisingly open with a front desk staffed by a custom 'Avina' style assistant VI.

According to the massive lizard next to her the man was a lot more than a glorified economic con artist. He was the financial executor for Citadel-based shadow broker operations.

Vakarian had been assailed by his superiors the moment C-Sec showed up of course. Since he'd had her back and not stabbed it she'd flashed her ID and told them he'd been working for her so spectre authority, he was to keep his new toy, and the entire chora's den op had never happened. They hadn't been happy but they hadn't had much choice either. She still figured he was still gonna face an inquiry, but they'd wait until they thought she wouldn't find out before they'd hang his ass out to dry.

"Let me do the talking." Wrex rumbled. He wasn't upset, his voice just sounded like gravel routed through someone's subwoofer.

She nodded, not seeing a point to anything more. A moment later they walked into an expansive office dominated by a massive wood desk, expensive art on the walls, and a Volus in an odd business suit.

"Von. Job's done."

"So I understand. Your, hsss... involvement with humanity's spectre, hsss... candidate and an outcast C-sec officer was, hsss... unexpected. According to the reports however it, hsss... was justified."

"Wouldn't have done it if it wasn't."

The suited being nodded and looked to her. "Lt. Commander Shepard. It's an honor to, hsss... meet such a storied individual."

"Same." She replied neutrally.

"I've taken the, hsss... liberty of handling Ms. Zorah's medical bills in, hsss... full and paying her an appropriately robust bonus for, hsss... aiding broker operations. Detective Vakarian will not be assailed by, hsss... administrative harassment or disciplinary action. His new rifle has also been, hsss... formally transferred to his ownership."

She blinked, then nodded. "Thanks."

"Of course." The being looked back to Wrex and motioned to a data disk on his desk. "The agreed-upon, hsss... data."

The Krogan picked it up, slotted it into his omni, and grunted. "Thanks."

"This entire situation has been declared, hsss... a priority of the broker network. Exclusively offered, hsss... information regarding it will be more than handsomely, hsss... rewarded, as will direct and discrete aid. Wrex, while I, hsss... realize you likely wish to take care of personal issues immediately I, hsss... believe you'll find the rewards for your next task worth the, hsss... delay."

"What's the job?"

"Investigate Saren's involvement with the, hsss... geth and the black ship involved in the attack on, hsss... Eden Prime. In exchange you'll be given the location for the, hsss... original clan Urdnot enclave along with enough, hsss... corroberation to make reclaiming it fairly smooth." There was a pause, and then the alien added "By, hsss... Tuchunka standards."

"Agreed." The massive reptile replied instantly.

"Excellent. Lt. Commander Shepard, I've been, hsss... authorized to make you an offer as well. Copy us, hsss... any data you acquire on the topic, kill Saren, and, hsss... provide detailed data on the black ship. In exchange the, hsss... network will be available on request, free of, hsss... charge."

"What's the broker's angle?" Wrex asked pointedly.

"I don't know, but shortly after being, hsss... relayed the data from Eden Prime he informed all of his, hsss... top level assets this was now our top priority. I've already assigned every, hsss... available asset we have on the citadel to, hsss... gathering information as quickly, efficiently, and quietly as, hsss... possible. Lt. Commander Shepard, I've already got people tracing the, hsss... link to Saren. They estimate 11 hours until they can give you, hsss... an endpoint destination."

"How'd you find out?"

"Through a link to Wrex's armor. Yours, hsss... was not possible to access in a timely matter. Frustrating, but not, hsss... unexpected."

The huge Krogan grumbled but offered no further protest.

"You also have been offered incentives. In, hsss... exchange for copying us any and all intel regarding the black ship we'll, hsss... offer you aid in said search free of charge."

That was a hell of an incentive, but if she was going to violate security like was being asked she needed more. A lot more.

"Add in bodyguard details for my sisters and you've got a deal."

"Your request was anticipated and, hsss... preparations made. All but Elsa will have Black Rose units on-site within, hsss... 6 hours."

"My bondmate?"

"Uneeded. Cerberus has let it be, hsss... known that she's under their protection. We don't know, hsss... why. Yet."

"Is she Cerberus?"

"No. She's a broker asset. One of our, hsss... best in-person intelligence agents, though she directs 90% of her, hsss... pay to her sister's welfare. A laudable attitude but of dubious, hsss... fiscal value."

She sighed and shook her head. "It's not about the money. It's about family."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Sorry for this chapter getting out late. Been some medical issues so I kinda spaced on it until the last minute. Might be a bit rough around the edges since I've only had a couple days to proofread it and pick out any mistakes.

The Krogan!

The Krogan are a lot like the Native Americans of North America before Europeans showed up in force but high tech and living on a Mad Max-esque world. A loose, frequently squabbling but not actively at war conglomeration of clans with no real central govornment other than a council of clan heads who spend as much time trying to kick each other's assas as help their people.

Shamans are outside that and are one of the two unifying factors, the other being Krogan females. They make sure the past isn't forgotten, people play by the rules, and no one gets too stupid. If they do either Shaman strike groups show up and level their clan or a scouring order is put out and every member of their clan is essentially declared an enemy of the Krogan people. Needless to say no one wants to risk being obliterated by their brothers so they play (Mostly) by the rules.

Females, after the Genophage started hitting their species and the level of threat was realized, consolidated under a council of matrons. Fertile females are guarded, non fertile females do the guarding and serve as ambassadors/enforcers. Breeding is tightly controlled so the fertile females don't over-breed and wind up sick or sterile. Mates are picked by genetic analysis and breeding histories to build as much of a racial resistance to the Genophage as possible. A program that had a lot of success until the Salarians decided that couldn't be allowed.

As a side note, Dr. Okeer was one of their foremost geneticists working on either curing or treating the plague. He was brilliant, inspired, and his research looked extremely promising. Unfortunately he reputedly went mentally sideways after seeing one too many dead infants. Still brilliant, but not all there exactly. Or at least that's what people think...

Ash Lickers - After the nuclear war that ravaged Tuchunka massive sand storms would and do occasionally form, then roll across the planet like hurricanes. The thing is, a lot of the sand hit by the nukes fused into black glass then shattered into dust-fine razors. You get caught in the open in a dust storm, you die messily. Since it looks like fine ash anyone who's insanely stupid, or just plain insane, is said to be an ash licker.

Lastly, regarding the Krogan Military. Due to the machinations of the Salarians and the Turians, most of the Krogan space forces have been either destroyed or blockaded. Military service is mandatory for all fit males from puberty to 100 years, after which they're free to do whatever as long as they send some money and/or resources home to keep Tuchunka running as best as can be managed.

By order of rank/danger they're...

Younglings (Children. Harming one is bad news, killing one's pretty much a death sentance)

Warriors (Trained and experience soldiers but nothing special. Most low level mercs you find in the games are simple warriors)

Battlemasters (The most experienced warriors, they're the Krogan equivalent of command staff/special forces operators. Most are at least 300 years old though many are 400 or more)

Warlords (Battlemasters old and respected enough to command other batlemasters and their forces, often are clan leaders or clan champions)

Warmasters (Not very many of them, but they're the absolute best of the best. 500 years of military experience minimum, survived shit others considered guaranteed suicide, almost always extremely powerful biotics, and they take orders from no one. They're outside the Tuchunka 'command structure' and considered living legends. The only people as good as they are are the most senior Asari Justicars, commandos, and Huntresses. Needless to say, most people generally stay the fuck outta their way. If they _do_ run into someone that can give 'em a serious fight, well, let's just say it ain't pretty.

Next chaper is personal, with Miranda waking up and having to deal with things as well as finally getting to see Saren and Benezia's reactions to Eden Prime.


	12. Chapter 12

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 12

"Commander, do the words 'Political Shitstorm' hold any meaning for you?"

"Sir. I didn't go looking for trouble. I was in civvies and a sport's car for most of the time I was looking for information. I avoided combat whenever possible, kept local law inforcement involved, and when things did go bad I did my best to keep collaterals to the absolute minimum. I know I'm probably making your life difficult but I don't see how I could've done anything better."

The diplomat grunted. "Thankfully for you my people agree. They're actually impressed by the level of restraint you maintained considering the nature of the thugs you annihilated. The fact remains this is going to hit us with bad publicity when we can least afford it."

"Sorry."

He regarded her warily for a moment, clearly trying to see if she was mocking him. When he finally decided she was being honest he nodded. "Your apology is both unanticipated and accepted. Most who run about blasting things on this station never stop to ponder the consequences. You at least seem to realize there will be some."

He sighed and ran a hand through his slicked-back steel colored hair. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way but it'd be best for us all if you dissappeared for a few hours."

"I can return to the Normandy."

"Don't. It's under surveillance by no fewer than nine foreign intelligence agencies. Ironically, the hospital ward your bondmate's in is better secured than the military docks. I suggest you go there and be with her. She could wake up at any moment and I'm sure she'll need a friendly face when she does."

She blinked, then nodded. "Aye sir."

He heaved a put-upon sigh. "I'm not your superior officer Shepard. You can simply say okay, will do, or even 'I'm outta here' if you're feeling particularly saucy."

She paused, trying to find the words to articulate what she felt, then said haltingly "I might not be... socially adept... but thanks to you I have a home, a car, and a chance to be something... better than what I am. That's... rank."

He regarded at her oddly, clearly surprised by her thinking. After a moment he smiled. "Looking at things like that I can see why you're acting as if I'm the ranking officer. While I was simply doing my job your gratitude, stumbling but genuine, is noted and appreciated."

"Uh, thanks?"

"You're welcome. Head to the hospital and try to stay out of trouble. I'll handle things from here and make sure your omni has a secured link to the ship so you can keep abreast of developments."

"Aye sir." She started to salute, paused, then simply nodded.

The formalities done and clearly having been dismissed, she headed to the hospital. How the hell she was going to handle Miranda when the woman woke up she had no idea. The entire situation was a bomb with a short timer and a twitchy fuse if she'd ever seen one.

Maybe Athyta could help?

-^V^- -^V^-

Watching as the med-pod did it's work on her... bondmate... she wondered what the hell to do next. The broker's people were still doing their thing, Athyta hadn't arrived yet since she'd been summoned to the Asari Embassy, and Anderson was too busy getting the Normandy back up to spec to talk. Joker was doing the same, and Williams had been working her ass off to convince people she'd been worth saving.

The med pod was at least marginally interesting. Nanite enriched high intensity medi-gel, microscopic surgery suites attached to fast-moving arms that were quickly sewing the woman's guts back together. They'd worked so fast they'd nearly completed basic repairs and were beginning to do the cosmetic procedures to keep the wound from scarring.

A nurse going about her rounds poked her head into the room and asked if she needed anything.

"ETA to functional recovery?"

"I'm sorry, I can't offer prognosis. If you'd like I can ask the doctor on her case to stop by."

"Yes. Uh, please."

"Soldier right?"

"Yeah."

"It's the stiff way you hold yourself, like you're trying to sit at attention. Want some food?"

"Please. I'm recovering from a major case of brain burn."

"Sure. Any preferences or just whatever the mess is in the mood for?"

"As long as it's big portions I'm not real picky."

That earned her a grin. "In that case I should be back soon."

She nodded and waited silently. The doctor stopped by just as the nurse returned with a food cart. The moment he heard why she was superloading calories and protein as fast as she reasonably could he ran a quick scan to see if she needed more detailed care. Once he was satisfied she didn't he relented and appraised various displays filled with medical esoteria.

"She's a unique case." He offered after a few minutes. "Originally we'd estimated nearly 30 hours until discharge. Since she heals at roughly the theoretical maximums a baseline human is capable of however I'd say, hmmm, in another 6 she should be safely ambulatory. She _won't_ be fully recovered however. That'll take another week minimum, even as fast as she heals, of bed rest and outpatient medical care."

"Will she be okay?"

"Physically she'll be 100% other than her sterility issues. Her biotics shouldn't be effected but I'd strongly recommend she see a therapist to handle the mental trauma of such a major wound."

"I'll make sure she's put on medical recovery status and that the ship's doctor won't let her do more than walk and eat until she's fit for duty."

"She's a soldier then? That explains her muscle tone and assorted previous injuries. We were able to fix the scarring and damage from most of those thankfully, so she should feel much better once she's up and about."

"Hey kid! You in this maze of a medical nightmare?"

She sighed. Even _she_ knew you weren't supposed to yell in a hospital.

"In here."

A minute later Athyta walked in, ignoring the annoyed looks of both the doctor and nurse. "About damn time. I've been in Varren warrens that were easier to navigate than this place. So how is she?"

She repeated what the doctor had said and her mentor nodded. "Good. The media's gotten ahold of the fact you're on-station and they're screaming like gelded Krogan for interviews. That ambassador handling your situation's one slick bastard, I'll give him that, but the sooner we're outta here the better."

"Achem. You are, miss...?"

"Matriarch Athyta Vasir of the Dark House, yadda yadda and so on and who gives a shit. Shepard's big sister by adoption and her mentor in how not to run around making an ass of herself. Mostly by showing her how it's done."

"Quite. I need to resume my rounds. Ladies." He nodded stiffly, then walked out looking like someone had rammed a super-sour lemon down his throat. The nurse followed and she sighed. "How are things other than the media being idiots?"

"Not bad actually. No one's connected you to Chora's Den or Fist's getting dumped in a recycler. Wrex is holed up at my place waiting until you're ready to go. The Quarian kid's pretty much demanding to tag along since there's geth involved. Arrangements have already been made all of us to tag along as civilian security consultants. You might wanna see if that cop you were with can join up too. According to the Broker's people his career's pretty much dead. C-Sec can't take overt action thanks to you, but he ain't never gonna get a promotion and next time his evaluation comes up he'll be booted out on a pile of pyjack crap."

She grimaced, then nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Call the gas can. Bet it'd take him 30 seconds of data hacking and that kid'd be the official C-Sec liasion for this mess."

"You make the call. Please." She added after a second. "You know him better than I do."

"Eh, true. I'll see what I can manage. So how're you?"

"Functional."

"Nonono." the woman protested, flicking a hand in negation. "When someone asks if you're okay you either say I'm fine, I'm getting by, or I feel like crap. So, let's try this again. How are you?"

"Uh, getting by?"

"Better. Take a nap. I'll keep an eye on things and don't argue! I don't have to be a doctor to see you're running on fumes."

She scowled but assented. Heading over to a corner, she put her back against the walls, pulled her knees up against her chest, and locked a hand on her gun.

She almost didn't notice when she finally dozed off.

-^V^- -^V^-

Waking up hit her like a smack from a Krogan. Her first reaction was fear, terror really, that she'd passed out for a moment and was still dying. Once it processed that she wasn't the terror shifted, focusing on the fact she was paralyzed and had been drugged to the eyeballs. She was floating in something gooey, bound in strange manacles connected to her cell's walls, naked, and utterly helpless.

"You're in a hospital on the citadel. Your injuries are almost completely repaired and you have an estimated time to discharge of 2.5 hours." The voice took a moment to process. When it finally did her fear faded only to be replaced by confusion.

"Dumbass! Comfort the lady, don't give her a briefing the moment she semi-regains consciousness!" That voice was new. Snarky, but apparently offering 'how to' tips on being reassuring. Sort of.

"What... happened?" She managed to rasp into the facemask covering the front half of her head.

"You were nearly killed but I managed to save you."

"How?"

"Know anything about Asari bonding?"

She blinked, then realized she could _feel_ Shepard, not just hear her. Instantly enraged she demanded "What did you bloody do to me?!"

"When I saved you I, um, accidentally bonded you."

"I can sense that you twit! I want to know how and why!"

"I couldn't let you die." Was the simple, blunt, and reassuring reply. "As for how... I don't really remember it. I used some semi-legendary biotic technique to drain my life force to supercharge yours long enough for casvac to get to us."

Shepard had gone _that_ far to save her? No one had ever... Something in her squirmed but somehow managed to be as much relief as gut-twistingly sickening. Then she remembered where they'd been and roughly why she'd nearly been killed. "Eden Prime?"

"We managed to save it. The guy who shot you's dead."

Well, there was that at least. "What now?"

"You recover enough to get outta here. Once you are we hit the Normandy and haul ass after the sick fuck that attacked Eden Prime so I can force-feed him to a recycler feet first."

"I'm not military. The moment I tried... "

"Already handled. There's... something else."

She grimaced. "There always is. What?"

"The strength of the bond we have's called Sia'dei. We're now essentially one nervous system in two bodies. We split up more than a thousand klicks or so and we both die. Badly."

She paled, but before she could protest Shepard said "I didn't plan any of this. I was just trying to save you."

She closed her eyes, focused on breathing deep and slow for a few minutes, then said "You don't know what you've done. I have a sister... "

"Orianna."

"Ex-bloody-scuse me?!" She exclaimed furiously. The level of probing her mind it would've required to learn that much about her...

She blinked as the other voice said "Man, and I thought I could put my foot in it. Listen kids 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Shepard, you did this for the best of reasons and near killed yourself in the process, but you fucked up her life. Miranda, she did it for the best of reasons, she damn near burned her own brain out to save you, doing it cost her nearly 5 kilos of body mass, her life's just as fucked, and if she weren't terrified of losing you she'd have put a bullet through your brainpan and hauled ass hours ago."

Somehow something in her was yanked, hard, and she was suddenly in a starfield, bare-ass naked facing an Asari and Shepard, both also naked. She frentically covered herself up and demanded "What the bloody buggering hell's going on?!"

To her surprise Shepard instantly blushed beet red and turned away while the Asari chuckled. "Don't get your panties bunched kid, I ain't interested. Shepard, stop being a batarian in a bathhouse. Keep your eyes over her neckline and pretend she's a disembodied head or something."

Something quickly smothered her fear and anger, though not her amusement at the Asari's snark, replacing them with a _wrongess_ she couldn't identify.

"Ugh, you too? Yeah, this ain't gonna be a tramwreck." The woman sighed, shook her head, then said "Let's get everything out in the open before you two pile on the delusional bullshit to the point it'd take a miracle straight from Athame just to find a damn shovel."

"So, names. I'm Athyta of the dark house. Shepard here's my adoptive little sister and apprentice of sorts. She pulled some shit I ain't seen in a solid 300 years to save your life and she did it on pure instinct. Dunno how or why, but something in her's willing to kill or cripple her painfully to keep you safe. She's pissed off she's trapped in a relationship with you by default and scared of what it could mean or where it could go. As a Spectre, or a candidate at least, if she wanted to she could've vacated your head and C-Sec wouldn't have been able to write her a ticket for the mess. You'll notice she hasn't."

She blinked, the tirade she was about to blast out cut off before it could get started.

"The one who invaded your privacy wasn't her either. It was me trying to figure out what in the goddess's name was going on. That's how she and the council know about you, your sister, and your shitbag daddy who's now facing a Spectre investigation. If he's stupid enough to try to get to you just remember Shepard'll stand between you and anything he can throw your way. Same for your sister. Topping that off I'll be right behind her because one thing Shep has right. Family protects family. Sure you got drafted in on accident but that don't change shit. _Family's family._ End of discussion."

"Let me see if I have this straight. You mindrape me out of curiosity. The secrecy that was my sisters ONLY defense is now gone. You sent goosestepping government stooges after a man with heavy political connections who'll do anything to anyone and calls a billion credits pocket change. I'm a proto-spectre's unwilling wife with a death sentance hanging over my head if I leave her. I'm now a member of an Asari house that from all evidence has no problem with slaughtering anyone at anytime, including children. Neither of you has actually looked at _fixing_ this shite, and now I'm supposed to run off at Shepard's side to play galactic robin hood."

"The fuck?!"

"No, she's right. Whatever our intentions were, no matter how much we were trying to help, we did everything she just accused us of." Shepard looked her in the eyes and swore "I don't know how, yet, but I'll do whatever it takes to fix this even it it means EMP'ing my brain and eating a bullet."

She blinked, caught off guard by the oath. Normally she'd say bollocks to it but here, now, feeling the womans sincerity and resolve, she couldn't help but believe her.

"Good, otherwise I'll do it for you."

"What in Athame's flaming azure is your goddess-damned problem?! Shepard fucking made history to save your ass and the moment you wake up you pull this shit?!"

She glared at the Asari and snarled "You endangered the only thing in my life I give a rat's hindparts about and I'm supposed to be bloody _HAPPY_ about it?! I'd rather have died than put a target on Ori's back! Instead I'm here, I can't go there, and you probably logged my sister's location in tons of databases my father will have access to in a day if he doesn't already! You all but handpainted a target on her back!"

"You ungrateful little... If it wouldn't kill Shepard I'd fuck you up so bad even a Batarian Rgraat would puke!"

"Thank you for making my point."

"Of all the... GAH! Shepard, why exactly did you save her?"

"Miranda's not an acceptable casualty." The woman replied before turning to face her. "I know I... hurt you." Shepard offered hesitantly. "Even if I was trying to save you that's not... okay. Tell me how I can fix it."

Again, she'd have thrown the offer back in the woman's face but she could feel that she was not only being honest but she genuinely hated herself for doing this to her and really was desperate to clean up her mess. She could see the terror, the pain in the woman's golden eyes, and hear the self loathing in her voice.

Her resolve faltered and she cursed vehemently. How exactly was she supposed to hate the bitch if she was acting like this? Yes, they'd completely ruined her life but Shepard hadn't done it on purpose. She'd fucked herself up near as bad to save a life no one with their head on straight, or even bent, would call saveable, and now she genuinely despised herself for the results. Yet despite her rant the woman _still_ intended on protecting her even if it meant comitting suicide.

After a minute she said "From now on you don't do _anything_ to me without running it by me first. _Ever_. You look for a way to break this fucking bond without killing us. You do anything and everything you can to keep my sister safe, starting with letting me get her moved somewhere she's NOT in some goddamn database my father can use to get to her. You don't even _think_ about giving me orders. You don't touch me, at all, unless it's to render _conventional_ first aid. You stay as far away from me as possible without getting me killed. You don't butt into my affairs, at all, for any reason. Lastly, the moment we get free of this you forget I exist."

"Agreed." the woman assented instantly.

That apparently sorted out she asked "Are we 'officially' bondmates or is this just between us and the medics?"

"Officially. I'm the Normandy's XO though so you won't need to worry about hot bunking with the crew or getting your stuff messed with."

"And where am _I_ supposed to sleep Shepard? With you?" She asked pointedly.

"Bed's yours. I don't sleep much. When I do it's in a corner with my back to the walls and a gun in my hands."

Still furious the Asari growled "Kid's telling the truth you hypocritical, self centered, ungrateful little shit. She just spent 3 hours dozing in the corner with a hand on her sidearm inside the hospital the council goes to when they scrape their knees giving some lobbyest their daily blowjob."

Shepard's comments prior to discovering the beacon popped out of the fog in her head. She scowled, but it was weak. "I hate this."

"How can I...?"

She waved Shepard off mid sentance and glowered at the woman. "Not because you did something wrong. Shite, if you had I'd have an excuse to hate you! Unfortunately for us all you're the most incompetent, bumbling, well meaning white knight GIT I think I've ever met!"

The super soldier simply looked at her, confused.

The matriarch snorted but seemed to calm down slightly. "What she means to say kid is that if you weren't being so nice she'd be okay with wanting to kick your ass. Problem is you're being ridiculously Vanya about everything so she feels guilty for being mad at you."

"Oh. Is that good or bad?"

"That, kid, is a question you two're gonna have to sort out on your own."

-^V^- -^V^-

Saren scowled at the display before him and the contents of the data feeds scrolling by. The Eden Prime operation had been planned for months. Prepared for extensively. Executed seemingly flawlessly. He'd even gone so far as to shoot one of his very few friends in the back of the head to maintain operational security.

It'd been wasted effort and anguish.

Humanity, virulent little monkeys that they were, had somehow made a true capitol-scale stealth ship. An over-gunned assault scout named the Normandy that'd somehow managed to get to the planet without being detected, then ambushed his forces just as he'd been getting ready to leave. He'd thought it'd been troops rallying. It hadn't. It'd been troops that'd somehow defused the nukes, accessed the beacon before it'd blown up from a power surge, and rescued Nihlus.

His flawless operation had officially blown up in his face and the Monkeys had done the blasting.

Oh how he despised those pinkskinned primates.

He wasn't much fonder of the Asari for rescuing th...

"Problems, oh great warrior of destiny?"

He scowled at the woman as she slinked into his office wearing clothing that was more wishful thinking than actual cloth. As always she had a slightly off glint in her gaunt and shadowed eyes from dusting on red sand. He could also smell a hint of toxically alcoholic liquor on her breath. Despite that she moved with the grace of a killer and her casual use of biotics to do things most people couldn't were a reminder of just how truly dangerous the woman was.

"Benezia. To what do I owe the dishonor of your presence?"

"Do settle down. I'm here to see if you'd survived Eden Prime with an intact mind, not rip it asunder."

"Other than having frequent migraines I'm fine." He growled. "Now that you've verified my continued health feel free to leave."

"Something went wrong then?"

"The monkeys sent a stealth ship to respond to the situation on Eden Prime. I can't get any specifics but it was able to get to and loiter in-system without my ship or the Geth seeing an ancestors-damned thing. They defused the nuclear bombs intended to render the hemisphere useless for forensic purposes and Nihlus somehow managed to survive. Badly injured, but according to the Spectre database he's expected to make at least a partial recovery. Potentially worst of all one of their crew interacted with the beacon before it was destroyed."

That earned him a wary look. "I thought you'd shot your friend in the back of the head with that cannon you call a pistol."

"I did. I can show you records from both my armor and the Geth. I saw blood, shattered plates, bone splinters. His shields must've somehow managed to diffuse the blast to marginally nonlethal levels. If he remembers who shot him my involvement will become known."

"That would be... inconvinient."

"Your powers of deduction never cease to amaze." He retorted mockingly.

"Yours never cease to disappoint. I said inconvienent, not significant. The human ship is far more dangerous to our plans. If it's as capable as you say it's a Nescit among Juleir. One we can't see or currently defend against. Nazara will take this... badly."

"I'd thought of that you honorless drug addled slut!"

There was a flash of vicious Blue. Motion. Pain. When his eyes refocused he was being held immobile before her, her hand held up as if she were choking him. He felt pressure on his neck and heard the sickening crunch of his plates being crushed and realized that was exactly what she was doing.

"You _chose_ this. You sit here with a whole mind, Nazara's favor, and the possiblity of a future." She snarled, body flaring so bright it was hard to see her. "I was _enslaved. Broken._ That abomination took everything I am. Forced me to drive away my bondmate and my daughter. If I so much as _think_ of rebelling he rapes my mind. If not for keeping my body in a constant state of shock and my brain drenched in chemicals that slowly rot it cell by cell I'd be no more intelligent than a husk. "

He clenched his mandibles a certain way three times and a phasic pulse followed a split second later by a massive electrical surge blasted out of his armor. He couldn't help staring as his attack barely made her biotic field flicker.

The grip on his throat clenched tighter as she snarled "Do _not_ test yourself against me boy. You will fail." Her voice was distorted with so much hate and rage she sounded like someone, some _thing_ , else. Cold, malevolent, vicious. He felt one of the plates in his neck crack.

"Fine." He choked out.

She threw him across the room against a wall so hard it left him dazed and nearly tore a hole in the hull. When he finally regained his wits she was gone.

"Insane sanded-out whore." He rasped as he surveyed the extensive damage to his office.

He sighed and headed to the ship's briefing room and called a contact on the Citadel. If anyone could tell him more about what was going on without alerting anyone it was him, and his morals were purely mercantile.

A moment later the call connected and he said "Harkin. I've got a job for you. High danger, high pay."

"Music to my ears bossman. What's up?"

"Here's what I need... "

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Nescit - A predatory fish, sort of like a great white shark but a lot meaner.

Juleir - Harmless skittish and colorful, they're defenseless and generally oblivious.

Kind of like fancy goldfish.

Miranda!

Miranda Lawson was, as everyone already knows, the genetically altered 'daughter' of Henry Lawson. In the game he was a villain, but other than his being an agotistical asshole into fucked up research you never really find out what makes him a villain. What'd he do to Miranda, specifically? What about her situation drove her to escape with her sister? How'd she do it? How'd she run into Cerberus? How's the illusive man keep him off Miranda's case? None of those questions are really answered in game. So, a quick summary with further details to be delivered in-story as needed.

She was genetically engineered much like Shepard, but the Aphrodite project wasn't intended to produce perfect killing machines. It was intended to design perfect women Henry Lawson could use as toys and breeding stock, with the hope being that by the time his children were grown the technology to swap his mind for theirs would exist and he could thus attain effective immortality.

Also unlike Shepard, once her embryo was fabricated and survived 2 weeks in the initial artificial womb, a surrogate mother was brought in, hormonally altered to trick her body into thinking it was pregnant and Miranda was inserted, thus imregnating the woman for real. The surrogate was then lobotomized, subjected to eezo irradiation and drug treatments designed to maximize Miranda's biotic potential, and once Miranda was born she was dumped into a recycler.

Miranda's early years consisted of a neverending cycle of tutors, athletic coaches, and combat/intelligence operations instructors. She lived in a high class prison designed to pull out her full potential, and once she wouldn't be dangerously injured her 'father' started molesting her. She hated him for it and he approved, calling it motivation.

When an infant, Orianna, showed up she finally snapped and used a combination of seduction, hacking, sabotage, and shock/awe tactics to get both her and her sister to freedom. She then used a combination of intelligence maneuvering, theft, extortion, blackmail, and prostitution to finance getting Orianna to a reputable adoption agency. She made sure to route her sister to a wealthy but well adjusted couple and then kept a covert eye on Orianna. She's been working up a trust fund for her sister to 'inherit' as well as arranged for her adoptive parents to be promoted rapidly and not get 'downsized' when their employer hit a rough patch.

She pretty much stumbled into working as a semi-freelancer for the shadow broker, who, in exchange for paying her reduced rates, makes sure no one in the broker network endangers her Orianna. She's lived from job to job, put every credit she could into that trust fund, and was about 3% short of her goal when the Eden Prime op popped up...

Athyta!

Born to unnamed parents who died shortly after her birth, she grew up as a soldier during the Asari Unification war. All she learned was how to kill and how to not die, and with things getting worse by the day it was all she cared about. Her rise through the ranks was fast thanks to raw biotic power and a genuine talent at waging war. She was adopted by Laraia as her blood sister after saving her life when an assault went legendarily bad. After that they were pretty much inseparable and grew to see each other as true sisters.

When the war ended they drifted around Thessia for a while, unsure of who or what they were now that they weren't living meal to meal and fight to fight. They ran into another few people in similar condition and they all banded together as something of a nomadic support group, picking up more and more survivors until they were an itinerant nation unto themselves. They all pooled their resources and bought an island the size of the state of Texas, then moved there and worked on building an actual home. Eventually, and through continued mercenary work, they managed to get themselves declared an official house though Laraia wasn't invited to the council of the hundred queens.

Eventually contact was made with the Salarians and the Turians, and she left Thessia to find herself. Her first bondmate was a Hanar medic she ran into after a merc job blew up in her face. Adventures ensued, and when she tried to return to Thessia she wound up doing what was supposed to be a quick bodyguard job for the Satelie of house Vasir at the time.

She foiled several assasination attempts, and was unwillingly married to her target after the woman's sire decided they were the perfect couple and threatened to nuke the dark house's homeland if they interfered. A few years later while she was with her bondmate's bearer a rival house attacked the main family compound and killed everyone there, including her bondmate and 'mother in law'. With nothing tying her to house Vasir anymore she cut all ties with them. Since she'd never really bonded with her bondmate she didn't suffer the normal trauma of a severing.

She ran into Benezia a few years later and it was love at first sight. This time she got bonded willingly and deeply, and would've taken the surname T'soni if not for the political issues it would've raised. Liara was concieved at the estate she later sold Shepard, but a couple decades later Benezia started growing cold, even to her and Liara, until she pretty much dissappeared.

Athyta supported Liara as best she could and taught her everything she could. Once Liara graduated and had started working university digs she went wandering again, drifting from place to place helping Asari who were down and out get their lives and minds rebuilt.

Benezia!

Born just as the war ended to a life of luxury and political slaughter, she was forced to grow up fast or die. Her political and economic instincts were heralded by the head of the house, and by the time she'd graduated collage with degrees in political sciences, economics, and matriarchy (How to run and rule a clan competently). The war ended soon after and with the upper ranks of her house decimated thanks to a last ditch attack by one of their rivals, the survivors chose her as the new house leader despite the fact she wasn't much out of her maiden stage.

Her rule turned house T'soni into a political and economic juggernaught in short order. Focusing on areas of the economy others didn't, she helped rebuild support services, food production facilties, non-noble buildings. By the time others realized she'd eclipsed their bank balances and influences through 'menial' work house T'soni was wealthy and had wedged itself into an economic niche it was impossible to dislodge. Between that and her skills at making allies as well as keeping her enemies at each other's throats as opposed to hers, house T'soni was one of the most powerful of the houses and she one of the most feared and respected of the hundred queens. This was also when her association with the church of Athame began.

When first contact was made with the Salarians she expanded into the growing galactic markets and spent a large chunk of money on a ship that could get her and her closest followers to and from meetings in luxury and safety.

For centuries she ruled, and when the Rachni attacked she and house T'soni were among the first into the fray. She led from the front, as opposed to other matriarchs, and was respected by her house and her followers because of it. She became incredibly deadly because of it, and when the Rachni war was soon replaced by the Krogan rebellions, she did the same there, gaining even more respect and acclaim as well as enough connections she was able to expand her mercantile empire into military matters.

More centuries passed, she became heavily involved with the church of Athame, and while she had her share of fun in a bed, it wasn't until she ran into Athyta she truly fell in love with anyone. They met at a bar (Huge surprise I'm sure) and hit it off, quickly becoming inseparable. Liara was born soon after and, for her first decade, had an idyllic life (Aside from damage to the local scenery)

She finally worked her way high enough into the church of Athame to find out about the beacon in the statue and see the ancient and hidden sites of the first Asari. Cave paintings and so on depicting Nazara and it's evil power.

Something in her said 'It's out there and bad shit's going on' so when she heard about Saren's shadow operations she went to investigate to see if her instincts were right. Unfortunately for her they were.

Tali!

As we all know Tali is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member of the ruling council governing the Quarian people. Other than that, and that she _really_ doesn't like her father because he's distant and she's trying to step out of his shadow however, her past really isn't flushed out. So, here we go.

She grew up having to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove she wasn't 'The admiral's daughter' and so people would praise her for her accomplishments, not think she was getting a free ride thanks to who her father is. She got top marks in school, was a pro-grade athlete, and learned both standard Quarian Marine combat techniques as well as how to use knives and other 'small' blades up to around the size of a machete. Useful against most races, it made her something of an outcast among her people since their biggest weakness in combat was suit damage, and edged weapons were one of the few things that could relatively easily damage their suits. She also, in yet more defiance of standard quarian tactics, focused on close-in weapons like shotguns, PDW's, and pistols. She's only got basic proficieny with battle rifles and barely knows how to hold a sniper rifle right, much less how to use one.

Due to that, and the fact she wasn't interested in furthering his career through strategic alliances with other families Rael was distant, easily angered, and generally a domineering asshole. Tali hated him for it, and for trying to marry her off, so the moment she was eligable she announced she was going out on pilgrimage. Her father tried to stop her, but she essentially said 'Fuck you I'm outta here' and ducked out on a visiting freighter as temporary crew.

She lived an itinerant life afterwards, going from job to job, looking for a pilgrimage present that'd make everyone respect her enough to let her have her independance. She saved up money whenever possible, and thanks to being stiffed on several deals, betrayed multiple times, and nearly getting raped once, she's not the brash kid she was when she left the flotilla. She's worldly, has an eye out for trouble at all times, and is always ready to cut and run when things go bad.

Also, thanks to being wounded several times and surviving it, her immune system's actually pretty robust, hence why she survived getting shot by a polonium round in one of the scuzziest wards on the Citadel. When the situation with Shepard pops up, she demands to get involved because the Geth are. She doesn't like the Geth, but thanks to hacking her father's private files she knows what happened. She wants to know why. Why did her ancestors attack? Why did the Geth let them go? Why did the Geth isolate? What have they been doing, and is it a threat to the flotilla?


	13. Chapter 13

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 13

Shepard watched warily as Saren, attending the council session via holocom, tried to bully people into dismissing the council session before any evidence was presented. To others he was righteously indigant. Furiously yammering on about honor and his past accomplishments, claiming he was being targeted for revenge by humanity's first Spectre candidate, David Anderson.

She knew better. He was snarling out a thousand flavors of 'I didn't do it, you gotta believe me!' hoping someone would buy his bullshit.

Valern was, unsurprisingly, getting a bulk discount on post-organic fertilizer. Sparatus was too but he was only going for the economy size. According to Udina however the man was pragmatic and reasonable enough he wouldn't ignore sufficiently damning evidence, of which she had plenty.

Tevos was, unsurprisingly, the most amenable of the lot. From what Udina'd said the woman had very few biases but as an Asari, even if it was on technicality, she'd automatically be given the benefit of the doubt. Initially anyways. If she flubbed it, he'd said, she could kiss her credibility and her chance at being a Spectre goodbye.

Predicably it was the bipedal gecko defending the rogue spectre the most. "This is an outrage! Saren's only ever acted in the councils interests! He's never shown signs of being even remotely disgruntled or malcontent. To claim he's behind the Eden Prime attack isn't just offensive, it's morally disgusting!"

"Agreed. Saren's actions have epitomized the concept of Turian spectres for decades. Claiming he's the monster behind an unprovoked and unjustifiable attack on a civilian population makes no sense." Sparatus declared.

Tevos held up a hand, then said "Your accusations are grave huntress Shepard. Do you have proof?"

She nodded, noting she was being addressed by her Asari title, not her Systems Alliance rank. "Yes ma'am. Mission records, testimony from witnesses that _haven't_ died under mysterious circumstances, and forensic data analysis. All of it verified by C-Sec, Spectre operations command, and the AIS, with occasional input from an independant huntress unit here on the station."

As credentials went she figured there weren't many better. Between that and her opening shot about their lone witness dying suddenly and inexplicably while in C-Sec custody she figured she had solid ground to start from.

Keying up the first of her proof and putting it on a side display, she said "Ms. Zorah, while crewing on a salvage freighter looking over abandoned or failed colony sites, survived a Geth attack that killed most of the crew. This was possible due to her advanced knowledge of the Geth, CompOps skills, and simple luck."

"Surviving when everyone else on her crew was killed... " Valern started...

She overrode his delusional rant before it could get traction. "I said _most_ of the crew sir. Not _all_. The ship's chief medical officer and her son also survived. I would've brought them here to add their testimony but both are in shelters for survivors of serious trauma. Making them relive the attack just to get partial duplicates of data we already have in full would be sadistic."

"See! She doesn't even bother to interview witnesses to confirm her so-called evidence. Why are we wasting time on ths _lab experiment's_ delusions?" Saren asked mockingly, jabbing a glowing finger at her.

The glorified gecko of course agreed. "Spectre Saren is correct. All witnesses must be interviewed before we can proceed."

Udina stepped forward to stand next to her. "Since _basic decency_ seems to be in disgustingly short order I'll stick to on-the-books law. Specifically, regulations on inflicting permanent emotional or physical trauma which state, quite clearly, that dragging an emotionally compromised witness before a tribunal is both illegal and unethical. At _most_ , by the laws you supposedly revere but apparently feel no need to obey, any questions directed at them must be cleared and administered by a certified therapist in a neutral setting."

The Salarian scowled, as did Saren, but the rest of the room was nodding in agreement. They wanted justice, not to bully a victimized family.

Udina looked around, nodded and said "It's good to see not _everyone_ in power views tormenting the defenseless as acceptable. We're here to face facts, not listen to the rantings of the accused about why we shouldn't be looking _for_ evidence of any wrongdoing on his part, much less _at_ it. An innocent man, or even a guilty one who thinks they can get away with it, wouldn't care about it since, either correctly or due to delusion, they'd think they'd be exonerated. Yet there he stands, who knows where because he's testifying via holocom from an unlisted location, demanding we ignore evidence of his wrongdoing like a misbehaving child caught with their hand in a cookie jar!"

She might not be a politician but she knew a 'Fuck you' when she heard one. From Saren's intensified scowl, Valern's incoherent sputtering, and everyone else's 'Ouch, owned' looks she figured it'd been one for the record books.

"Shepard, continue your testimony. I'll ensure you're not harassed any further while doing the job you were comissioned by this council to do."

 _Aaand_ there was 'fuck you' number two.

"Aye sir. As I was saying, Ms. Zorah survived the attack and, due to her knowledge of how Geth code operates, was able to remotely recover several files from one as a squad of them passed her hiding spot. Among these was a partial recording of a conversation being held by two individuals adjacent to what we've tentatively dubbed a Prime."

She played the recording and watched people's reactions. As with the other couple times she'd listened to the message, something about the female voice was annoying the living fuck out of her.

"... aught some good luck. I've verified the monkeys have gotten their paws on a functional beacon."

"That _is_ unexpectedly good news. Where?"

"One of their colonies, Eden Prime, by students at a class on archaeological procedures. I've already sent the 9'th assault group to take the colony and keep people distracted while I drain it of anything useful. With the ancestor's favor it'll give us a location for the conduit."

"And put us one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

The moment the second voice sounded people started looking around the room with 'What the hell?!' and 'Oh shit' looks on their faces. Tevos paled so light she was the color of sea foam.

The scowl Udina'd had since she'd played it for him on the way over from the consulate intensified as he said "Just before our arrival the speaker's identity was confirmed by C-Sec, the Spectres, and the AIS, with further verifications pending from the STG, Asari Huntresses, the church of Athame, and the Turian Shadowblades. Exemplar Priestess of the church of Athame, Commander of the hunt, head of house T'soni..."

Oh fuck

" ...Matriarch Benezia T'soni."

Tevos, still in shock, exclaimed "Benezia wouldn't have anything to do with such an attack! It defies the very tides of her soul!"

"I'd normally agree councillor Tevos, but acording to files on her and statements made by those once closest to her she's grown distant, manipulative, vindictive, mercurial, and ruthless."

"That makes no sense." Valern interjected. "Her personality profile indicates a being of stability and serenity, not evil. Such a severe shift is... disturbing. _If_ true."

Udina nodded, apparently agreeing with the lizard for once. "I'm of the opinion someone or something attacked her, warped her personality, and got away without alerting anyone. There are several groups theoretically capable of it, foremost being a subset of the Asari not spoken of in polite company. I therefore request she be brought in alive and checked by Justicar Inquisitors if at all possible. If she's not in her right mind then she needs treatment, not a jail cell."

For the first time in her experience everyone in the room (Except for Saren, who wasn't actually _in_ the room) seemed to agree on something.

Deciding to keep going she resumed her testimony.

"Ms. Zorah, ignorant of the magnitude of what she'd found, headed here hoping to sell what that file and several others to either C-Sec or the Broker so she could continue her pilgrimage. The feighter captain she'd booked passage with managed to remotely access her omni and got a partial copy of those files. He _did_ realize how valuable it was and started calling everyone he knew looking for a buyer or buyers. She was attacked shortly after arrival, and after being shot with an armor piercing polonium round sought help at a local clinic."

Tali testified in more detail about her side of things to that point, and by the time she finished people were looking at her with a bit of respect in their eyes.

"The attack on Eden Prime occured while she was in-transit. Her arrival was a couple hours before the Normandy's, which I won't go into since most of it's already on-record. What wasn't was that officer Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec special investigations, was tasked with investigating the allegations I and others raised. He was being blocked by his superiors however, who were demanding he violate council directives. Specifically demands, on threat of being dishonorably discharged, that he drop his investigation for reasons similar to those councillor Valern's offered. He instead ignored them and did his duty. Eventually we ran into each other at that clinic. The head surgeon was being interrogated by local syndicate foots."

She ran the headcam footage from her sunglasses followed by the stuff from Vakarian's armor. Surprisingly, no one seemed upset at the sights and sounds of people being blown apart, lit on fire, and interrogated.

Once they finished she said "We proceeded on foot at high speed to aid Ms. Zorah. We arrived just in time to keep her from being killed."

More security footage, this time with the addition of the multispectral feeds from the kid's suit. By the time it was all done people looked impressed and a few, fronted by Tevos, were smiling at Vakarian's pointing out her good deed for the day. As far as they were concerned she'd just proven she didn't just _talk_ about doing the right thing, she actually _did_ the right thing when possible.

"Officer Vakarian and I then started to head to Chora's den to work a prelim recon. I was called in-transit by my mentor, who connected me with Warmaster Wrex, who'd been hired to look into an employee of the broker potentially having turned on it, him, or her. If so he was to identify the other party and report. He'd stumbled into Saren's involvement via several local contacts and was holed up at her place trying to figure out what to do next."

She keyed up the armor cam records from Vakarian as they met the Krogan, she got geared up, and the failed arrest but extremely successful assault that followed. While no one was happy about Wrex killing Fist, the man was a Broker asset that'd dropped an oyapo involved in a lot of death penalty crimes. He'd also been operating under the direct command of a Spectre candidate working an active, and very hazardous case.

She waited while both Vakarian and Wrex were questioned by the council and had to fight not to laugh when they tried to chastize the massive Krogan. She knew they were just going through the motions so they could at least pretend they were hard on crime, but seeing the trio of diplomats giving a Krogan Warmaster a hard time was hilarious.

Once they wound down she finished her testimony with the last piece of evidence she had. The, as Joker would put it, piece de resistancé.

"After the operation officer Vakarian returned to C-Sec headquarters to handle the datawork while Wrex and I contacted the broker. Me to see if the data line could be traced, him to let his employer know his part in things was done."

"And did your request bear fruit?" Tevos asked her, clearly expecting the answer to be yes.

"Twenty one minutes ago the broker's local data analysis assets, identities unknown, sent me the routing protocols, patterns, and endpoint TTL for the link Fist used to interact with his employer."

With no small measure of satisfaction she highlighted the number and hit 'connect' A second later Saren's holo image vanished. Her ears nearly popped from the sudden drop in air pressure thanks to all the people gasping in shock.

Since she'd done her part she turned to Udina, who was trying not to look smug and failing. He nodded, thanked her, and took her place at the podium.

"Lady, gentlemen, humanity tried to warn you about Saren when our _first_ Spectre candidate, David Anderson, went on an operation with him that literally blew up in his face. Anderson handed over all mission recordings as requested, all of which subequently dissappeared while the then-council told us, in defiance of all the evidence, it was our fault and Saren was innocent. Now one of our garden world colonies lays in ruin. One of our defense fleets has been blown to scrap. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are dead. A hub city obliterated. A functional Prothean beacon destroyed. A spectre in a medically induced coma after a gun _exactly_ matching the kind Saren prefers, fired by Saren, according to an eyewitness before he died while in C-Sec custody, shot him in the back of the head."

Udina looked around the room, glaring at people as if they were personally responsible, and said "You demanded proof? Well, there it is. The only question now is what you're going to do with it."

 _Aaaand_ , there was an _epic_ fuck you number three.

The entire council looked disgusted, even Valern. It was however, as usual, Tevos who spoke first.

"I put forth that Spectre Saren Arturius be stripped of his status and ordered detained for questioning in regards to the Ashland-Aldfell operation and the situation with Eden Prime. In favor?"

Both Valern and Sparatus nodded in agreement.

"The motion passes unanimously. As of now Saren is stripped of his Spectre status. He's a wanted fugitive and to be brought to the Citadel for questioning in regards to the matters mentioned during this session as well as any related investigations."

Udina, clearly not content with simple words, said "Shepard has proven her abilities and reliability. Her ethics, and her judgement. She's demonstrated an ability to lead, and to get people from normally combative species to work together for the common good. I think it not-inappropriate to ask she be instated as a full Spectre and sent after Saren."

The council looked to each other. What Udina was doing had to be pretty blatant if she could see it, but that didn't make him wrong.

After a quick flurry of back and forth text messages the council turned to face her and Tevos motioned to her.

"Huntress Shepard, stand forward."

She did so and Tevos said "The Spectres are both society's first, and last line of defense. They operate alone or in small groups, in the darkest of shadows, so that the rest of us may live in the light."

Valern took over, adding "Being a Spectre is a grave responsibility. The choices they make are very rarely easy or free of moral ambiguity. They face the decisions no one else wants or or can, and they do what must be done because anything less will result in galactic catastophy."

Sparatus finished things, saying "You stand before this council having been forged in fires and battles that most cannot concieve of. You've sought to help and protect those in need despite the costs to yourself. You've never asked for any reward save freedom, and stand before us as an exemplar of what one can become no matter their beginnings. We therefore ask, would you be humanity's first Spectre?"

She snapped to attention and saluted. "Aye sir!"

Tevos regarded her with mild amusement, Valern with annoyance, and Sparatus with a shadow of a smile. "Well said. You are, as of now, elevated to full Spectre status. Your first mission is to track down and arrest Saren if possible, kill him if necessary, and in either case find out what in the ancestor's names is going on. You're also to capture and detain Matriarch Benezia T'Soni for assesment by Justicar inquisitors."

"These 'reapers' they spoke of are troubling." Valern noted. "Pay particular attention to anything mentining them."

"Aye sir. Do we have any leads?"

Valern nodded. "The STG has heard... disquieting rumors regarding a corporate research colony named Feros focused on a massive prothean site. All contact with them was lost yesterday. The timing, I think you'd agree, is suspect."

"Aye sir. I won't let the council down."

"Good luck and go with Athame's favor Spectre Shepard." Tevos ended things, smiling.

A moment later the gong signalling the council session was, for the moment over, sounded. All three of her new boss's nodded to her and left without another word.

Once they were gone she turned and Udina said "Shepard, when I saw your name on the docket as humanity's spectre candidate I'm not ashamed to say I thought Ahern had gone mad. I hadn't thought you were, in any way, up to the task. I'm quite pleased and relieved to say I don't think I've ever been happier to be wrong about something in my life. Well done."

She blinked, not sure if that'd been a compliment or an insult. "Uh, thank you sir?"

He chuckled "You're welcome. As an aside that jab you made at Valern was, while not wholly appropriate, worth any potential fallout simply for the look on his face."

"What now sir?"

"Honestly? I don't know. High command, in their miniscule wisdom, never bothered to work out what to do if and when we got to this point. I need to make a lot of calls to sort that out and get you the resources you're going to need to pull this off. I suggest in the meantime you do a spot interview so no one can claim anyone's being secretive or making backroom deals. I know a reporter that's an actual professional, not some ratings-obsessed imbicile that'll be happy to handle things.

The thought of being on galactic vids made her skin crawl but she nodded. "Aye sir."

"Good, Expect a call in approximately three hours and be ready to report to the human consulate shortly thereafter. Colonel Anderson, is the Normandy ready?"

"Up to or better than factory spec." He stated, nodding.

"Excellent. I need you to maintain the comm's blackout and handle everything needed for the civilian consultants to accompany you. If you still haven't arranged resupply on expended stores or personnel replacements handle that too. If anyone gives you a problem direct them to me and I'll sort the situation out shortly."

"In that case I've got a lot of work to do. Consultants, grab your kits and head to docking bay D24 so we can figure out who needs what, how much, and where you're sleeping. Williams, your transfer's been approved. You sorted on gear replacements?"

"Aye sir. Thank you sir."

"No problem. Shepard." He said, turning to her and smiling. "You've done in 2 days what the entirity of humanity's failed to do in 20 years. You've redeemed my name and reputation in a few circles, and made me proud. Good work."

Not used to dealing with praise, she looked down and mumbled "Uh, thanks. Sir."

Vakarian broke in, saying "If you ladies and gentlemen will excuse me I need to get moving if I'm gonna be operational in an hour."

"Same." Wrex added, nodding.

"I'm ready to go now, if you're okay with that. Uh, sirs." Zorah offered.

"In that case ladies and gentlemen," Udina said with a wry smile, "let's move like we've got a purpose."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and Addendums!

A bit about Krogan Warmaster's I forgot to mention. They've mastered their blood rage and can use it to their advantage instead of going berserk. To put it into perspective, it's like the difference between Goku and Vegeta when they turn into giant monkeys. Goku goes mentally blank and attacks everything in sight. Vegeta doesn't. He can go monkey mode and remain coherent. It's a semi-rare talent and requires a lot of mental discipline to actually pull off. Kind of like Krogan anger management. As a side effect Warmasters tend to be a bit calmer in general, and much more strategic overall.

My version of the Normandy SR1

According to art director David Witz in an interview, the SR2 is 170 meters long, and the SR2 is, according to the codexes, twice the size of the SR1. So going by sheer mass (No active eezo fields) not size, one could figure the SR1 to be roughly 125-135 meters long. It also has a crew of approximately 20 in total, with your recruits bringing that up to around 25.

Just to give an idea of scale a USN Arleigh Burke class destroyer is 155 meters long and has a crew of 23 officers and 300 enlisted. It's powered by deisel engines the size of a couple freight containers, and it's armament consists of variable payload cruise missile launchers (X1), antiship missile launchers (X2), a SINGLE 5 inch/127mm gun turret, a 20mm anti-missile turret (X1), 25mm autocannon (X2), and 2 torpedo launchers. It can launch/recover a single Blackhawk helicopter, and does not have amphibous assault capabilities.

The Normandy has one heavy cruiser grade antiship cannon. It has 2 multirole antiship missile launchers. Two heavy antiship torpedo launchers. Multiple defensive laser emplacements (The GARDIAN array). Can launch/recover two IFV's. DOES have amphibious assault capabilities. Carries a platoon of special forces operatives plus all their gear. Has 6X assault armor troops, plus all their gear. Has a power core the size of a house. It has shields. Omni-armor. Dedicated self-repair systems. Is stealthy. Has oversized drive systems. An FTL drive. Has a dedidated bridge. Secured comm's room. 2 standard briefing rooms, plus one specialized specifically for specops units. It has a dedicated armory, a brig, storage for food and basic supplies. You can't cram all that in a 'small' ship, though in comparison to other capitol ships it is small. In short, the SR1 is 190 meters long, and the SR2 will be around 250.

Specifics on the Stealth System. As in game it masks thermal emissions. In game they kinda forget Radar and everything else however. My normandy uses a combination of ECM, power management, adaptive hull displays, thermal masking, and reactive navigation (In other words mapping out enemy scan patterns and flying where they're weakest to keep the chances of detection as low as possible) to achieve total stealth. How it works is extremely classified, and the only people authorized to touch it are Addams and 4 AIS specialists dedicated to the stealth systems alone. Anyone but them who tampers with or attempts to analyze them gets arrested, interrogated, and spaced.

The only people aboard with private quarters are the captain, XO, one bunkroom/facility for the ship's small AIS detachment, and 2 rooms for visiting flag rank officers. Everyone else lives in communal bunkrooms and gets a secured locker to keep their stuff in. There's one mess hall/communal area, one general mess with it's own kitchen, one officer's mess with a separate kitchen, and one medbay with a dedicated operating room plus faclities for handling 6 intensive care patients and 8 general care/recovering patients. They're aimed at humans and Turians however, so they're not ideal for handling other species.

Wrex and Garrus will be in one of the flag-rank rooms, Tali and Liara in the other. It leaves them with no guest capacity but Shepard doesn't give a shit. She's hunting a galactic criminal, not running a hotel for high ranking looky-loos. As far as she's concerned if you're not crew you're not welcome on her boat.

Now, until the Normandy, 'full stealth' spacecraft consisted of radar absorbant coatings, ECM, mimetic hull plating, going power-dormant to minimize your signature, then getting through an area on inertia and maneuvering thrusters. Even then the biggest ships people managed were about the size of a C-130 cargo plane, and 90% of it was ship's systems and weapons, with bare-minimum crews and next to no supplies. They have no shields and minimal armor to keep their mass down, so they're heavy firepower with next to no defenses if they get detected.

The Normandy is the first capitol-scale stealth ship, and one of the top secrets of the SA and Turian high command until it's debut. How it or what, specifically, it does is still a top secret, and is going to be a top priority for espionage by third parties hoping to steal the ship's secrets as long as they can do it without getting caught.

Armor Troops! (Human)

OIIA (Orbital Insertion/Infiltration Armor) Also known as 'Oh Yeah!' troops.

In my story they're not 'Iron Man' they're more 'Madox 01' or purebred high performance combat versions of the powerloader from Aliens. They're fast, maneuverable, heavily armed, and while their armor isn't superheavy they do have deployable omni-armor and shields. Here's a quick basic listing of capabilities.

Orbit-to-surface drop via disposable ballutes and rocket assisted parachutes.

Rotary cannon in arm mounts.

Clawed hands.

Feet have deployable spike-anchors for sticking to terrain and hulls in 0-G

Quad-pack anti-armor mini missiles right shoulder.

Mag-fed 20mm shell launcher left shoulder.

Short duration flight capability.

Extensive jump capability, and can jet about at high speed using extensive maneuvering thrusters.

Extended scan and comms capability so they can act as mobile electronics warfare units.

Limited stealth, largely via ECM, optical, and power management.

Sealed against all environments as well as nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare agents.

Powered by batteries.

Structurally speaking they can take 50G's 'spike' force and 30 sustained. Operationally however they rarely go above 20. To contrast that to modern fighter jets and pilots, fighters can take about 15-20 G's spike, 10-15 sustained, and pilots black out around 8-10. As stated however, humanity figured out a way to get around it...

Enhanced medical suites and life support systems that are tailored to the specific needs of their pilots. Among them dialysis, waste management, air, water, temperature control, and trauma care. Before a fight pilots blood supplies are temporarily swapped out for chem-laden non newtonian fluid that roughly doubles their G-Tolerance and reduces impact trauma injuries. They're also dosed with other chemicals to jack up their reaction times and keep them from going psychotic or suffering from overdoses. Note I said _suffering_ from overdoses, not keeping them from overdosing.

OIIA units operate in 3 groups of two and have self contained depolyment modules that maintain the armor and pilots. It's roughly the size of a freight container so the 'flight bay' where the MAKO's are stored is pretty cramped. At least until one of the MAKO's gets blown up anyways...

Last, a bit of a humorous tradition of theirs. Before each battle, and after they're prepped, they go through a little ritual. They all hunch forward, flex their arms down, and after the unit leader asks if they're ready to go, they grunt 'Ohhh Yeaaaah' like Macho Man Randy Savage.

Next Chapter the continuing romantic misadventures of Shepard and Miranda! Transfer of command! The Speech!


	14. Chapter 14

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 14

Jack Harper watched as the GPN network logo dissolved into a commercial, puffing on his cigar deep in thought. The interview Shepard had been put though had been, at best, sadly laughable. She wasn't inclined towards public appearances or to answering questions and she'd had to do both with literally billions of people hanging off her every word.

He looked at a side display and nodded. The media frenzy was already starting with people going over the interview in minute detail. What she'd said, what it meant, what it might mean, whether or not she'd been telling the truth about any of it. Why she'd been armed with an Asari-exclusive weapon, wondering how she was a ranking officer in the SA military while being a citizen of the Asari Republic.

Opposite that another holo showed Shepard and Ms. Lawson resuming their shopping spree. Worryingly, Ms. Lawson was being verbally/emotionally abusive and Shepard, for whatever reason, wasn't fighting back. Seeing that was extremely disturbing. He made a mental note to have Kelly look into it.

Another display showed Shepard's sister Elsa on her way to evacuate Orianna Lawson with backup provided by two of Aria T'Loak's best operatives. Ardat Yakshi that, for some reason, followed Aria unerringly. Why that was he'd yet to ascertain, but the thought she could bring two such normally uncontrollable and demented beings to heel was... worrying. The fact Elsa was even more dangerous than they were, even if only marginally, would've given him some small measure of pride if not for how it'd come to pass.

Kelly had surprised him by contacting Elsa after Shepard's spectre candidacy had hit their information nets. In exchange for the complete Hellion project files and carte blache to deal with the people truly responsible as she saw fit she'd enlisted the woman as an on-call for-pay asset in matters regarding protecting or helping Shepard. Thus the super soldier and her two cohorts had Cerberus hackers making sure things on the digital front went flawlessly and that the younger Ms. Lawson would be getting to safety in short order.

That entire situation was yet another example of Kelly blindsiding him. She was one of the very few people who'd managed to do it more than once since he'd formed Cerberus. If for no other reason than that he'd have respected her immensely. The young woman was genuinely brilliant however, could read people from several species like the proverbial open book, had a lithe body that could put a man very happily in medical, and enough basic sense to know one either made the hard choices themselves or had to stand by and accept their fate when someone else did.

Cerberus, for all it's propoganda and slogans about protecting humanity was at it's core his attempt to fight fate. To survive what he knew was coming.

The Reapers.

He sighed, took another draw on his cigar, and washed the smoke down with a sip of whisky. After a few more minutes of appraising informational feeds he tapped a holo icon next to a chair arm and said "Kelly, see if you can setup an independant cell, code name Sparta, with any of Shepard's sisters that may be amenable with the sole goal of supporting her. Make clear we're providing means, information, resources, and money, not direction or mandates. When they ask why point out her sudden and significant importance in galactic affairs as an unwitting advocate for humanity."

"Already working out the concepts sir. I'd been planning on bringing it up at our next meeting."

"Excellent. Allocate 5% of the discretionary budget and do what you can. This and Crow are your top priorities."

"Sure thing. And Jack?"

"Yes?"

"It won't kill you to admit this's as much to protect your family as it is to protect humanity. A lot of people around here don't get why you tolerate her attacks and can't trust you because of it."

He sighed. "I know, but doing so would put us all in danger." He was silent a moment as he reconsidered the angles, then said "Tell people one of her gene donors was someone I was close to. I consider protecting her and her sisters to be guarding his badly informed and ill mannered children."

"That should help. Oh, and I just got a call from Motoko. Project EDI just hit stage three."

He nodded. "Excellent. Have we got any volunteers for stage four?"

"Two, but due to the physical issues they'll require extensive re-training."

He blinked. "Physical issues?"

"A shapeshifting robot woman built by lab geeks. Need I say more?"

He chuckled. "I see. Continue looking for potential recruits, add in similar physical characteristics as a qualifier, and have Motoko remind them they're builing an infiltration unit not a sex mech."

"Considering some of our operations that's not a mutually exclusive directive."

"Hence why I set forth some of the design mandates I did and alocated hormonal hyper intellects to the project. Motoko's presence is largely to keep them focused on getting _all_ the systems up and running, not just it's physical attributes."

"That's either sad or a statement on the social development of people with advanced brain functions."

"You're the pshycologist with advanced brain functions so I'll leave such ponderings to you. Jack out." He flicked a finger and chuckled at the old joke, then got back to work.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda eyed the area warily as Shepard led her to the ship she was being, extremely unwillingly, posted to.

The security around it was bogglingly ridiculous. Multiple checkpoints with presidential-level scan stations and a squad of heavily armed and armored guards each. Drones on patrol. Emplaced turrets with anti-tank levels of fiewpower. Cameras covering literally everything, including the bathroom stalls. She hadn't seeen security like this outside of corporate black labs and even then only rarely.

What the bloody hell had she stumbled into?

About the only semi-good news so far had been, surprisingly, Shepard. When she'd asked the woman, well, more like demanded, to take her out so she could replace the gear and weapons she'd lost on Eden Prime she'd been expecting a hell no, or at least a 'not right now'. Instead she'd gotten an 'Aye ma'am, where to first?' followed by the woman helping her out of her sport's car (Another surprise) and asking if she wanted her bags carried.

If Shepard had been a man it almost would've qualified as gentlemanly.

Three hours later, and without spending a deci-credit of her own money, she was dressed nicely in fashionable clothes built to military spec, armed with a top of the line sidearm concealed in her brand new purse along with various other gear, a milspec omni loaded with regulated apps she hadn't had to do a damn bit of paperwork to get, and a classy toolbox with delusions of being a mobile wardrobe full of more of the same. Shepard looked like a bipedal beast of burdern she was so loaded down with bags while towing the thing around, and hadn't complained once.

Topping even that, when she'd 'asked' to be given some privacy so she could contact the broker Shepard hadn't said no, she'd driven her to the Broker's executor on the Citadel to do it in-person. The volus hadn't just paid her in full, he'd tossed her a bonus for the magnitiude of what she'd discovered and hired her as a 'close cover informational resource'.

The results? Ori's trust fund wasn't just topped off, it was 3% over budget. Her medical bills dissappeared. She had a security clearance nearly as high as Shepard's, and was now covered by citadel law on Spectre spouses meaning she effecively had a limited form of diplomatic immunity.

And Shepard hadn't balked once. Not at being used, not at the fact she was going to be keeping an eye on the woman's every move and selling it to nameless people for cash-in-pocket. Instead, after securing a promise the information wouldn't be used to harm innocents, she'd _helped_ _arrange the means to do it_. No protests, no ranting about security issues or being spied on 24/7. Just quiet acquiesence.

Shepard was so eager to please, so... pitifully penitent, it was like having the galaxy's most vicious guilty puppy following her around begging for forgiveness and an ear scratch. Hating her, however justified she was in doing so, felt like kicking that same puppy.

 _Guilt, you are_ _ **such**_ _a bitch._ She silently groused.

"You okay?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno. You just feel... bad."

She sighed. This was going to take a lot of getting used to. "I'm still playing catch-up to recent events."

"Things're happening faster than you can process." Shepard replied, nodding.

"Exactly."

"Once Chakwas finishes your intake you can relax a bit in our quarters. I'll let people know not to bug you."

She frowned. "Why are you being so... meek? I've asked you to fix what you buggered, not kowtow to my every whim."

"I know you hate me. I can feel it every time you look at me like supercooled acid stabbing me in the gut. I can't... handle that. So I do what you tell me and hope someday you'll look at me and see something... decent."

She winced. She hadn't known she was being that spiteful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Like I said, I'm still trying to process it all. I should be dead but I'm not. My life's not mine anymore. I lost nearly 3 days, during which time literally galaxy-shaking events happened. My sister's safe and able to live a good life where mine won't wreck it. I don't really have a reason to live anymore."

Shepard stopped and turned to her. "Why'd you protect Orianna? Other than base genetics she isn't related to you. She slowed you down, made survival more problematic."

"She's my sister! Was I supposed to bloody abandon her?" She countered acidically.

"No. You saw a defenseless child and you couldn't live with it so you risked your life to do the right thing. Now she's not a child and she's not defenseless but do you think she's alone? The only child that needed someone out there getting them to safety, to lives where they don't go to sleep terrified of what they'll wake up to if they wake at all?"

She blinked. That... was a good point actually.

"So you're saying my new purpose should be to protect at-risk children?"

"No one can or should tell you what to be. I'm just saying it's something you might want to consider."

"I... thank you. I hadn't considered that."

"Family helps family."

"That seems to mean a lot to you." She noted as they resumed walking.

"It's my purpose."

No wonder Shepard was being so accomodating. Protecting family, helping them, was literally the point of her existance. She scowled after a moment when she realized she'd used the woman without a second thought. Demanded what she really didn't have a right to ask for, then treated her like something she'd stepped in when she'd gotten it.

"You okay? The bad just got worse and... weird."

"I just realized I've been acting like my father." She stated, disgusted by the very thought.

"Oh. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes. Stop acting like a damn puppy."

-^V^- -^V^-

Once she'd gotten Miranda to medbay and her things into their quarters, she headed to Anderson's office. Tapping the intercom next to the door she said "LC Shepard. You wanted to speak to me sir?"

The door klunked as it unsealed, then slid open with a near-silent hiss. She walked inside, waited for it to close, then snapped to parade rest. "Reporting as ordered."

"At ease. I just finished sorting things out with CenCom. Whole situation's a fucking trainwreck because they didn't think you'd succeed so they didn't prepare for it. In this case that's a good thing, sort of. It enabled to us con, badger, and 'motivate' people into doing a lot of what we need."

"Uh, good?"

He snorted. "Mostly. Bad news first. The Normandy's being re-tasked to 6th fleet under the command of Admiral Mikhailovitch as planned but now on detached autonomous duty. He'd intended to use her against pirates once she was certified fit for duty so losing her to a citadel operation, even if it's only temporarily, is pissing him off. Officially he's headed here to do an inspection. ETA is 3 hours."

"And unofficially?"

"He's heading here to rip my head off, shit down my neck, and scream at Udina for interfering in his operations. I can't really blame him for it either. We did make his offensive against a dozen otherwise unassailable targets impossible."

"We know what his specific goals are?"

"Recon of E-Volatile targets, insertion of special operations forces, and sabotage. Why?"

"He could take a couple Artemis-class bombers, replace the torpedoes with sealed tubes, cram in 3-4 compact personnel per tube, and they'll make functional troop carriers."

"Huh. Interesting idea. I'll run a few sims, see if it'll work. If it does you'll be making a lot of people in CenCom _real_ happy. It'll earn you points with Mikhailovitch too, which is always a good thing. The man might be a short-fuse blowhard but he's well connected and knows the meaning of the word gratitude."

Anderson shook his head, then said "Which is good news but not why you're here. In other bad shit, various anti-alien groups have already started protesting you and the parliment's facing increasing pressure to do something. The SAISD's already declared you a threat to sol system security and issued a shoot on sight order to all their people. Spectre investigators are already poking into their operations so things are getting nasty fast, which is putting crown branch between the proverbial rock and hard place. They can't have an official government agency publicly targeting spectres, but for whatever reason they never interfere in SAISD operations."

"Joy."

"Now, here's the good news. The Normandy's been assigned to the spectre in charge of 'investigating and countering any and all elements behind the attack on Eden Prime'. That means she's now at your disposal, though I hear the new captain can be a real bitch."

That caught her off guard. "Sir?"

He sighed. "The formal announcement hasn't been made yet, but I'm being re-tasked to the Citadel as humanity's Spectre operations liason. A fancy term for making sure you get the support you need without getting screwed in the process. Relaying orders, greenlighting directives, handling intelligence sources and disbursement. Pretty much what I was doing back at NavSpecWar but a lot more manageable."

She scowled and sourly asked "Who's assuming command?"

He smirked and she was instantly on edge. "1200 hours, dress uniform, find out."

-^V^- -^V^-

"Hoofs on deck!"

People around the main bay, chatting in groups until now, fell silent and turned to face him. The deck thudded as 100 pairs of shoes thumped it in unison, people instantly putting hands to heads and backs straight as lasers.

"As you were." Anderson looked around, smiled, and said "Our first mission, despite the general circumstances being 20 shavetails in a 2 hooker cathouse, was out-fucking-standing. We got to the target area ahead of schedule. We mapped out and destroyed strategic targets without being detected. We landed ground forces without being tracked. We loitered and provided fire support without anyone figuring out what the hell was going on. We had injuries but no deaths, and we saved millions of people who had no idea who did what or how until some politician decided to cash in. Because of all of the above command, despite the mess on Eden Prime, is ecstatic with this ship and it's crew."

That earned him a lot of grins and a coulple HooAH! from the marines. He shot them a quick 'cool it' smile, then said "So, medals and promotions."

He started calling out names then pinning fancy metal and cloth mementos of not dying horribly to people's chests. Not the entire crew got awarded, but most did and morale was high. Then he did something she didn't expect that had her seriously considering running for her life.

"Luitennant Commander Shepard!"

She hopped up onto the tank next to him, despite the fact it was three times taller than she was, and saluted. "Sir."

"Your actions on Eden Prime, in total violation of procedure and basic sense, saved millions of lives. You rescued and then recruited someone with EOD training when you should've ignored them and focused on your mission. You rescued and recruited another with advanced hacking skills while emotionally compromised. Because of that, five 'dirty' nukes that would've totally voided the efforts of everyone else here and annihilated 60% of all life on Eden Prime were turned into glowing paperweights. You single-handedly killed more than a strenghened platoon of Geth forces with light weapons and survived taking a knife to a gunfight. You saved the life of a man you didn't like, and when your bondmate was flat cold dead meat you made every romantic on this crew go googly eyed and start acting like idiots."

Several of the crew blushed while others snickered.

Miranda glaring at people didn't help.

"For your efforts, CenCom is promoting you to Commander and awarding you the Lunar Star."

She blinked. That wasn't a medal awarded very often. What she'd done to deserve it, despite the fact she had five already, she had no idea. She stepped forward and waited while he pinned it in place, swapped her collar tabs, and then stepped back to salute.

She started to leave and he said "I'm not done yet commander."

She blinked again, then turned back to face him. "When you should've been in bed, you were chasing down the person or persons behind the attack on Eden Prime. You ignored all the people saying you couldn't pull it off and not giving you the support you should've had. You tracked down the evidence and witnesses needed anyways, and in the process destroyed a local Oyapo's operation without causing an international incident. When you presented that evidence and were treated like an idiot you stayed focused and did your job. Thanks to you we now know who's responsible and have the power to do something about it. You vindicated my own reputation in the process, and you even managed to get through an interview without punching, headbutting, or curbstomping the people involved."

"We sure that's Shepard?" someone called out. There were a few chuckles but Anderson silenced them with a quick 'shut it dumbass' glare.

"You've achieved what no one else, myself included, could manage. You became humanity's first Spectre."

A large chunk of the crew actually looked stunned.

"CenCom, for once in their lives, is doing something non-idiotic. I'm being re-tasked to the Citadel to keep you up on intel, B3, and make sure you're not screwed by the people upstairs. As this ship has been transferred to the Spectre assigned to tracking down and killing Saren Arturious, command decided to give her to you."

She blinked.

"VI, command login Anderson, David, Colonel. As per NavSpecWar directive 6-19-2240 I hereby transfer command of the SSV Normandy SR1 to Commander Shepard. Authorize and impliment."

The ship's feminine but flat voice said "Change in command logged and enacted Colonel Anderson. Captain-designate Commander Shepard now has command authority." Almost the entire crew cheered at the announcement. Anderson just looked proud and offered her his hand.

Not sure she was hearing things right, she asked "Uh, sir? Did you just put me in charge?"

"I did."

"Sir, that is the most assbrained thing I've ever heard of and I've listened to Vorcha reading Shakespeare."

"Hah! You'll have to tell me about that one sometime."

She sighed, shook her head, then said "Commander Shepard has the con and the deck. Colonel Anderson, I relieve you."

"Commander Shepard, I stand relieved." They finally shook hands, saluted each other, and he added "Please try to return my boat in the same condition I'm giving her to you."

"Good luck with that shit sir!"

That earned more laughter with Wrex, Vakarian, and Athyta joining in just as uproariously as the rest of the crew.

Since she was now the captain of the deck she didn't resume her place on the floor, she stood next to Anderson and tried to figure out what the fuck to do next. Her human mentor apparently already had a few ideas.

"Okay people! I reserved us all one hour at the DarkStar Lounge for crew liberty to celebrate our bad fortune, two more to recover and prep, then I want the Normandy wheels up. If I'm not seeing drive flares at 1600 hours I'm gonna come back here with armored boots and no ointment. Now get into civvies and move ass people. Drinks and troughs are on me. Crew dismissed! Hudson! C'mere! Come. Here."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and Addendums!

GPN - Galactic Political News. They cover politics around the galacy, and are generally nonbiased, plus they fact-check things before they broadcast them. Most politicians consider the network an essential resource.

Timmy and the Reapers (No it's not a metal band) - In one of the Mass Effect comics Jack Harper was on Shanxi and ran into a Reaper artifact there, which is how he got the glowing blue cyber-eyes. Thus he knows that the Reapers exist and are coming. When he couldn't convince SA command they downgraded him to desk duty and put him in charge of several black ops projects, most of which he didn't actually have the clearances required to monitor. When that blew up in his face he said fuck it and formed Cerberus.

Project Edi - Yes, she's being developed at this point. You don't develop an infiltration unit like EDI in two or three years. You need at least five, preferably ten to do it right. Also, as the details make clear, she's NOT an AI-Driven robot. What she is and how she gets involved you'll just have to keep going to find out (Pinky to mouth/Evil cackle)

Jack out being a joke - In a lot of sci-fi stories, especially cyberpunk stuff, people can directly plug their brains into a computer. That's called 'Jacking in'. Disconnecting from a computer is called 'Jacking out'. Thus, since 90% of the time he's sitting in front of about a dozen informational feeds him turning them off is jokingly referred to as jacking out.

Shepard and Miranda - Miranda's finally calming down (Shopping can do that to you, trust me) and realizing Athyta has a point about how little right she actually has to be upset. Not that she'll ever admit it, but she also realizes she's been using Shepard like a pack mule and emotional punching bag. This is NOT like my KiGo fic. Shepard isn't demanding Miranda take charge or using bondage sex to get off. Shepard's trying to fix things the only way she knows how and there's no sex happening, nor is anyone getting tied up.

E-Volatile - Targets with strong sensor and defensive capabilities. They have no gaps in radar, no blind spots on thermal, and enough GtA and GtS defenses to make a direct assault either extremely difficult or flat out impossible.

GtA - Ground to Air

GtS - Ground to Space

The Lunar star - A medal given to special operations personnel who do the right thing for the right reasons despite what most would consider suicidal odds _and_ accomplish their mission in full or better. It's the highest award in SA special operations, and while you can display it, you can't tell most people why you got it.

Shepard and the Lunar Star - Shepard doesn't understand why she got another Lunar Star (Just like she doesn't understand why she got the others) because to her she was just doing the right thing. She never expects an attagirl for risking ludicrous odds protecting the innocent because to her that's just what you're supposed to do.

B3 - Beans, bandages, and bullets. A euphamism for all the supplies needed to keep someone or an entire operation functional in the field.

Anderson's comment about bad fortune - It's a sarcastic comment people use when command gives them medals and promotions because it means people higher up the command chain are looking their way. Since CenCom tends to start issuing favored units stupid directives out of some misguided mental bullshit being good, in their minds, makes suicidal odds and impossible directives somehow both realistic and survivable.

Wheels up - When an aircraft takes off and retracts it's wheels (Like a fighter jet or airliner) it's called going 'Wheels up'.

Drinks and troughs - Food and drink, with troughs (Pronounced Trofs) being a joking reference to how much food special operations people put down. A trough is the bathtub-or-bigger container of food used to feed and water livestock. An easy to find example would be in cowboy movies, when someone ties their horse next to a big box of water so the horse can drink.


	15. Chapter 15

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 15

Miranda had to admit she felt better. Shepard's message they were heading to an all-crew party and needed to dress 'nice' had been a surprise. There'd apparently been a change in command and the old captain had rented out an entire lounge, a nice one if she recognized the name right, for an hour of R&R.

She was now dressed to the 9's, groomed equally impressively, and dreading what Shepard would show up in since she seemed to have the fashion sense of a crowbar. Athyta giving her the boot and vanishing into their quarters with the puppy hadn't helped much. Asari were notorious for wearing clothes that were 80% skin, 10% cloth, and 10% prayers that nothing would pop out.

Eying the display on her omni, she looked up just as it ticked 13:30. The door hissed open and Shepard walked out followed by an insufferably smug Athyta.

To her shock Shepard actually looked like she was ready for an evening on the town. Nice clothes that were sexy without being impractical or slutty. Hair brushed until it shone, makeup on her face smoothing her features. The emberassed blushing scowl on her face said not all of her was pleased to be celebrating making history, but hopefully she'd mellow out slightly once she'd had a few drinks.

"Matriarch, while I dislike you in most regards I have to admit you worked a miracle."

"I know, right?" The woman cackled, pushing Shepard her way. "Let's go, I wanna see if we can get her blitzed enough to unwind. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the local Turian population'll try and have her arrested for grand theft stick."

She couldn't help but chuckle. With their luck she could actually see something like that happening.

"Should I call a cab or will we be taking your car?" She asked the still-unhappy redhead.

"My car. If that's okay."

She smiled. "Of course. It's classy, fast, and armored. I may be... fussy... but even I approve of that sexy beast."

"Oh. Uh, good."

She looked to the Asari and asked "Was it your doing?"

"Nah. The commander for the base she was stuck on after Torfan owned one. Anytime a situation authorizing emergency transport bullshit popped up she'd steal his car. Once I got the council to give mini-me her backpay she bought a place to live and that car. Government auction so it didn't cost as much as you'd think."

That kicked a few unpleasant thoughts loose and she said "Shepard, once I can sort out my finances I'll pay you back what you spent today getting me re-equipped."

"You don't have to."

"I know but I was being... vindictive. If I'd been spending my own money I wouldn't have gotten half of what I did."

"Oh. Uh, thanks?"

"Of course."

Athyta shot her a 'Watch it, you're on thin ice' glare then said "C'mon, there's a few bottles of toxic chemicals with our names on 'em." 

-^V^- -^V^-

This was hell.

Utter, terrifying, mind shattering, hell.

Shepard was pinned between Athyta and Anderson, both of whom were drinking, eating, and exchanging old war stories while making sure she didn't do the smart thing and run.

All she could see was a badly lit room full of people moving around, most of whom she didn't know. Flashes of light as things glittered or lasers in tune with the music painted the mirrored wall behind the bar in chaotic patterns. Just as bad, the background was a wall of noise. Thumpy music drowning out the water flowing in the walls. The klinking of glasses and tableware as people ate. Muffled voices she couldn't understand.

Miranda seemed to be enjoying herself somehow, and other than the occasional odd glance her way was ignoring her. After dinner the brunette had hit the dance floor and currently had damn near the entire crew blatantly ogling her as she moved. It pissed her off but there was nothing she could do about it without killing pretty much everyone needed to run the Normandy.

Next to her Athyta, voice not quite smooth, complained "Not much for parties, is she?"

"Never was I'm afraid. Hence why I agreed to flank her before she dissappears." Anderson replied, his voice slightly slurred.

"David, has the meaning of R&R totally escaped you?" Kahlee, sitting next to him asked pointedly. "She's neither relaxed or having fun. She looks more like she's being tortured."

"I'd rather be tortured." She muttered between bites of a super deluxe chimichunga the size of her forearm.

"Shaddap you. Look lady Anderson, she needs to get used to this shit before someone figures out how to use it against her. I mean seriously, if she ever has to pull diplomatic duty or goddeess forbid attend some nose in the air gala she'd be totally unprepared. Besides, compared to an Asari party this barely qualifies as saying hello. You ever wanna see a _real_ blowout hit up a Si'ria festival. Now _that's_ a party."

She felt Anderson shift as he said, his tone a bit emberassed, "I, ah, went to one once when I was on Thessia for a conference. The huntress unit I was being escorted by pretty much dragged me to it claiming I was too uptight. I'm half surprised I lived through the night."

"See!" Athyta exclaimed gleefuly, motioning to him over her head.

"You slept with an _entire huntress unit?_ " His wife asked incredulously.

"We, ah, didn't sleep much."

Her mentor laughed uproariously, the sudden loud sound and movement finally driving her over the edge. Desperate terrified and not entirely coherent, she biotically charged the doors and ran for her life. 

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda saw Shepard ahead and winced. She was in a shadowed alleyway, back to a corner, gun in her hands, frentically looking about with wild eyes. Everythnig about the woman screamed 'scared animal' and she cursed yet again.

While she wasn't fond of the bond they shared she'd felt Shepard's blast of abject unprocessable fear on the other side of the club just before the woman had charged the place's front doors to get out. After demanding to know what'd happened she'd used it to track the woman down. It was like tracing an omni-saw sticking out of your guts back to the person who'd shoved it there.

Athyta she could understand doing this to Shepard. The woman was a sociopath with absolutely no sense and seemed utterly incapable of understanding other's feelings. She'd actually thought she was in some utterly idiotic way helping the redhead.

Anderson was the one truly pissing her off. The man _knew_ Shepard. He _knew_ how she'd react and he'd done it to her anyways then had the sheer gall to be mad when she'd finally lost it and run. Knowing Athyta she'd probably conned the drunk twit into ignoring any warning signs thinking he was just being fidgety.

She might not like Shepard, but the woman didn't deserve to be abused. Given a swift kick in the ass and lecture or five, yes. Stuck in an Asari lab to figure out how to safely sever a bond, hell yes. Subjected to an emotional assault by people she shold've been able to trust that reduced her to an incoherent mess, hell no.

If it wouldn't get her arrested or killed she'd have beat both Anderson and that blue bitch into a hospital.

"Shepard. Can you hear me?" She asked, approaching carefully.

The woman's eyes locked on her desperately. "Miri?"

"I'm here. You're safe."

"I couldn't... "

"It's okay, this isn't your fault. They should've known better than to put you through that."

"I... need... " Words failed the woman, as did, apparently, her ability to speak.

"Let's go back to the Normandy. You can shut yourself in your quarters where it's safe. I'll make sure no one accosts you."

"I... o... okay."

She walked Shepard out to the car, then drove it to the docks. C-Sec was waiting for them but she intercepted them before they could trigger the woman further.

"Officers. Is there a problem?"

"The DarkStar Lounge management called C-Sec about Spectre Shepard destroying his property. We're here to find out what the hell happened even if we can't actually _do_ anything about it." the man replied sourly.

"Shepard was subjected to emotional and mental torture by her so-called family and superiors is what happened!" She stated furiously. "She has severe PTSD, massive paranoia, and socialization issues. So what'd they do to celebrate her promotion? They bloody dragged her into a bar full of loud music and partying military personnel!"

"Jesus. No wonder she freaked and bolted." He grimaced. "Unless you're her legally recognized S.O. I still gotta get a statement from her, coherent or not."

"I am." She stated flatly. "Give me the datawork, I'll handle it."

"Here ya go." He said, relieved. "I had a cousin that showed up after one too many tours in the S.A.M. that was like her. Poor bastard barely leaves his apartment anymore even to get food. Sleeps maybe 3 hours a night, jumpy, has flashbacks that drop him on the spot screaming."

She nodded silently, her gaze flickering between Shepard and the data slate in her hands. She filled everything out as quickly as she could then handed it back. "Are we free to go?"

"Yeah. Good luck. I have a feeling you could use all of it you can get."

She sighed and nodded. "You'd be right. Please excuse us."

The rest of the trip to Shepard's quarters was, other than the guards giving them a major case of stinkeye, trouble free. She got the woman settled in a corner, put a blanket over her, then leaned against the wall just outside her door to sort out as much of her own life as she could via her omni.

When the crew returned they found her asleep and still on guard. 

-^V^- -^V^-

Now feeling better thanks to a nap and Miri's badgering her into letting Chakwas fill her veins with drugs, she signed off on the last of the manifests and looked to Pressley. "Ship's status XO?"

"Ship shape and squared away ma'am. All crew accounted for and ready for duty. Power core's online, weapons on cold standby, shields on cold standby, no unknowns or threats in our immediate AO."

"Good." She tapped a control on the CnC controls before her. "Specialists, Alenko, Squad Leaders, and AIS commander to brief 1." She tapped another control and said "Joker, prep for departure. Once we have an idea where to go I want us the fuck outta here."

"On it boss. Yo! Comms! Call TraCon!"

She tapped the control again, muting him. "XO, same. Have engineering standby and the armory start prepping for disbursement."

He frowned. "You're expecting problems?"

"I _always_ expect problems. In this case though I've got a gut feeling that says the ground team's gonna be facing more than beurocracy and bullshit."

"Aye ma'am. Should I set condition R2?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but be discrete."

"Aye ma'am."

She headed down to the briefing room and most of the civvies were already there. The military personnel were there, seated, and ready to get to work.

She walked over to the podium then waited for the rest to show up. Once they had, she said "Since not all of us have met before let's do a round of introductions. I'm Commander Shepard, captain of the boat, Spectre, lab reject, and an L6 biotic specializing in CQB." She looked to her right.

"Liutennant Commander Kaiden Alenko. Ship's master of marines, meaning I handle the management and deployment of the ship's ground elements. L2 biotic with Sentinel spec, 12 years in the service. E-Rates in ISMSA, CM/T, FSI, FCE. As long as people keep things professional and engage brain before feet I'm pretty easy to deal with. Act like an idiot and my foot's going up your ass no matter what species you are."

Wrex, next to him, chuckled. "Got a quad on ya kid. Name's Wrex. 700 years or so old and a Krogan Warmaster. Pretty powerful biotic, I don't blood rage, and don't ever touch my gun. It belonged to my grandfather and it's older than I am."

She nodded and added "His weapon's roughly on par with the main cannon on a Mako and it fires self-sharpening APIN slugs the size of a 16 ounce water bottle. If you have to piss him off do it outside the damn ship."

People whistled, low and slow, or just flat out stared. The massive lizard just grinned.

Continuing, Athyta, who'd pretty much become persona non grata for a lot of people after the 'DarkStar Dickage' as Joker'd dubbed it, said "Matriarch Athyta Vasir. Satelie of the Dark house and Shepard's mentor in how to fuck everything up being a dumbass. I'm about twice as old as Wrex, a lot more powerful than Shepard, and combat-effective at all ranges. I'm also the estranged bondmate of Benezia T'soni. We had one daughter, Liara. This situation... I'm kinda not right in the crest at the moment. Sorry."

People winced and the general opinion of the room shifted from 'Inconsiderate blue bitch' to 'fucked up and stuck in a familial no-win scenario'. One look to Miri confirmed it wasn't the prevaling attitude of everyone however. Then again her bondmate wasn't the forgiving type either.

Next was... "Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams, formerly of the 212 off the SSV Wildfire. Survived the geth attack on Eden prime long enough for the commander to save my life. 11 years in the Marines, I'm E-Rate in BIM and IAM, with a D-rates in ERM, EOD, FM, IWR, and AAM."

She piped in again and said "Alenko, when we get some downtime run her through the E-Rate tests off the record, then on the record under my direct authority if she passes. If anyone gives you problems because she's a Williams tell 'em, and I quote, 'Spectre Shepard says to pull your nose outta your CO's ass and do your job before she does it for you.' End quote."

He chuckled. "Aye ma'am."

"Thank you ma'am!"

"Like I said gunny, just fixing shit that shouldn't need to be fixed."

The burly guy next to the eurspanic woman grinned. "This might not suck after all. Gunnery Sergeant Martin Vega. 12 years in the Marines and an N4. Passed on N7 'cause I hate shiny crap on my collar. I don't give two shits who or what people are as long as they hold up their end. I run squad one."

"I'm, um, Tali'Zorah Nar'Rayya. I'm good at fixing and modifying ships, computer programming, drones, sensors, and I'm okay with a shotgun. I'm an expert in Quarian hand to hand and I'm good with knives. I'm on my pilgrimage."

"In other words she's a teenager that got caught up in some bad shit and is trying to prove herself without dying horribly in the process. She's also hoping to un-fuck her people's public image a bit if she can. Therefore, if Ms. Zorah's willing to learn I want people to teach her whatever they can so she _doesn't_ die horribly."

"No offense ma'am, but why's she here?" Vega inquired.

"She's not bad on a trigger and a good enough hacker to crack _Geth_ code."

"Daaaamn. Nice."

Next was... "Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec special investigations. I'm good with small arms and _damn_ good with pistols and precision rifles. I'm trained and experienced in forensics and police procedures. I was also in the Heirarchy Military as a recon scout for 4 years."

She looked to Miri, who scowled and said "Miranda Lawson. I specialize in intelligence and counter intelligence operations, with a secondary background in single-unit special operations actions. My skillset's a mix of AIS sweeper, field intelligence asset, and data collation expert. I'm E-Rate with most known weapons and explosives. I'm also an L5 biotic."

"Oh c'mon!"

She looked to Vega and growled. "She's telling the truth."

"That's impossible boss lady. The only reason you can pull that shit's because you were made... "

She nodded as he finally got it. "Exactly, but unlike me she's human. Genetically speaking, she's the ultimate human. As much of a nightmare as my childhood was she had it worse in some ways. I won't go into how. All you need to know is that I'm not worried if _she_ can keep up with _you_ , I'm worried about _you_ keeping up with _her_. Consider this classified 'Pissing off Shepard' and forget this part of the brief ever happened."

"Got it. Sorry ma'am."

Last was... "AIS commander Bishop. I can't of course detail my specific background other than to say I'm more than competent in a fight, an expert on information gathering, analysis, collation, and classification. My section of the crew is largely outside the chain of command and I won't be joining in ground operations. That said, consider my services offered in regards to the informational aspects of our mission."

She nodded and looked around. "Right now the only lead we have is from Valern, who was obviously pushing an adgenda. I'm not gonna ignore him but do we have any other options we should be considering to track Saren down?"

"Aria." Wrex stated. "If he's pulling ash-licking idiocy like this he'd pretty much have to run at least some of it through Omega. Knowing Aria she's already figured it out and is cleaning house."

"Good plan. I'll call her once I get the chance. Anyone else?"

Vakarian chimed in, adding "You should contact the Shadowclaw directorate to get his files. The STG too, since I'd bet they're tracing his money and probably seizing it all without telling anyone."

"Also good. Next?"

"We, um, could check the relay logs to see if we can get an idea of the size of the ship Saren used to escape. It won't tell us what... " Zorah fell silent but she smiled. "I hadn't thought of that. Can you do it remotely?"

The helmet bobbed. "I think so, yes."

"Good." She turned to Bishop. "Work with her to make it happen. Anything she needs, I want it in her hands before my next cup of coffee."

"I'll handle it personally. Very good thinking young woman."

The Quarian teen looked down, her body language pretty much screaming 'Emberassed'.

"Once we get the data from Turian command I'll work up a brief on him." Alenko tossed out. "Preferred tactics, weapons, gear, armor, all of it. That way we're not operating blind when we run into him."

"Good idea. Work on counter-tactics while you're at it."

"Aye ma'am."

After a moment Athyta said "Liara's one of the galaxy's foremost Prothean historical experts. This was all about a Prothean relic so... "

Much as she wanted to kick her mentor's ass right now the woman had a point. Besides, she was just trying to protect her daughter. Toss in the fact her instincts were suddenly yelling 'THAT! NOW!' and she asked "Where is she?"

"Therum. The University of Serrace has a dig there."

She nodded. "Anyone else have anything?" When no one piped up she said "Bishop. I want a brief on Therum on my desk in 30 minutes so detailed I could rebuild the damn planet with it."

"It'll be there commander."

"Good. Alenko, I want you to sort out supplies for the new crew. Reloads on their guns if they use anything custom, grenades, omni apps, gels, all of it. Athyta, Zorah, Vakarian, Wrex. Hit medical for intake checkups. Miranda, take everything we can get on Saren and see if you can figure out what the fuck his game is. Work with Bishop when possible."

"As long as they don't do anything stupid."

"If they do it won't be for long." she reassured her bondmate, ignoring Bishop's dubious expression.

Sergeant Vega asked "What about the armor troops?"

"The only reason they're still on this boat's because no one would let me kick 'em off. Unless we're facing heavy opposition where they're 100% needed they aren't going anywhere. That's not because of that asshole's attack on Miri either. Bishop can confirm I have a history of avoiding those drug-fucked idiots whenever possible, including times when it meant I'd face heavier opposition and get shot up doing the mission."

The man nodded. "She has. She's also spent a few days in various brigs for physical altercations with them. I wouldn't expect to see them deployed until we run into significant and heavily armored or entrenched opposition."

"Exactly. Athyta, once you're done with Chakwas I want to run a few ideas I have on taking Benezia alive past you."

"Thanks kid."

She nodded. "Okay people, let's get to work." 

-^V^- -^V^-

Liara wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out. Her water had run out a day ago even with careful rationing, her food the day before that, and she hadn't slept since the attack. She was seeing 2 or 3 of everything, and the worst headache of her life made her brain feel like it'd been dunked in lava.

The Krogan was still out there as were those robots, who's numbers had doubled. They constantly hammered weapons fire, explosives, and various chemicals against the shild to try and drop it. So far, to what little relief she could still feel, they hadn't made it so much as flicker.

With her omni dead and no clocks or sunlight she'd completely lost track of time. She knew it'd been at least 4 days though since her Omni's battery was rated at 5 and she'd charged it a few hours before the attack. All she really knew was that she was half blind in agony, dehydrated to the point her crest was curling, and so hungry she felt like her stomachs were trying to devour the rest of her.

If I survive this, she mentally snarled, I'm going find the fools who couldn't be bothered to investigate an entire expedition's dissappearance, then I'm going to track down an Ardat Yakshi and feed them to it!

Rage, her sire had said, could keep you going when nothing else would.

She'd been right.

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and Addendums!

ISMSA - Inter-Species Military Small Arms. Essentially all non-esoteric infantry weapons from Humanity, the Asari, Salarians, Turians, Krogan, Drell, and Batarians. Alenko's E-Rate means he can hit a human-sized target in the vitals under almost all conditions at the effective ranges for each gun 90% of the time.

CM/T - Combat Medic/Triage. Someone who can render medical aid in the field, with the added training to be able to tell when someone's going to die no matter what you can do. Many CM/T's are religious, and instead of giving terminal cases an injection and a fast death, they fill their charges with painkillers and offer what comfort they can before that person dies. If asked, they also ferry non-hostile final messages to loved ones.

FSI - Field Security and Intrusion. Someone who can secure an area for friendlies as well as hack enemy defenses to make them _un_ secure.

FCE - Field Combat Engineer. Someone who can repair equipment and electronics in the field, as well as be competent with the creation of, and use of, omni drones.

BIM - Basic Infantry Marksmansip. Someone's who's able to use commonly issued SA military weapons competently

IAM - Infantry Advanced Maneuvers. Someone who's trained in how to properly deploy and utelize troops up to the platoon level.

ERM - Extended Range Marksmanship. Designated Marksmen/women able to use precion weapons up to 1,200 meters. They are NOT snipers, just really good shots and able to use basic sniper weapons at non-sniper ranges effectively.

FM - Field Medicine. Not combat medics, but they can treat injuries not requiring surgery effectively, and know how best to use a medkit and medigel.

IWR - Infantry Weapons Repair. People who can maintain, fix, and to a limited degree modify small arms.

AAM - Advanced Armory Machinest. Someone who can not only maintain and repair small arms, but recondition and extensively modify them.

S.O. - Significant Other. Husband/wife/fiancee/permanent partner.

Liara having Stomachs - Asari in my story have two. One for plant-based food, the other for meat. It's because the flora and Fauna on Thessia are different enough chemically that one stomach can't efficiently digest both forms of food. Herbivores and carnivores don't have that problem since they only eat one type of food. The Asari are omnivores so they evolved with 2 stomachs. Thanks to that, in order to get proper nutrition they pretty much _have_ to eat both veggies and meat mealtime.

The SAISD not killing Shepard for fighting with OIIA troops - The SAISD don't like OIIA troops so they didn't care about Shepard beating a few up. Besides, she was easier to control locked in someone's brig than when she was out and about.

Lastly, Shepard having ideas for taking Benezia alive - I have that entire section of the story planned out and a lot of it's stuff I'm actually kinda surprised no one else has tried. Hopefully when it gets written and published people will have an 'Oh damn, why didn't I think of that' moment and bow before my awesomeness :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiances 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alchohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 16

Getting to Therum had been little more than 11 hours of drills, food, and personally meeting the entire crew so she'd know specifically who and what she was dealing with. Not because she was a 'people' person looking for friends but because on a mission like this, a loyal crew as opposed to a submissive one could easily be the difference between success and getting dumped into an unmarked grave.

The AIS had pulled her aside for an hour to give her the basic 'field brevet' captain brief. Procedures, codes, mandates. Told her what she could and couldn't do, and gave her specifics on what they could and couldn't do. It wasn't the full training and procedures program command personnel normally went through but like the saying went, you took what you could get and you made it work. Once they'd finished that, and briefed her on the rights/responsibilities of a Spectre, she'd asked them to work with the quarian kid and Miri on their fields of expertise.

In Miri's case that meant coordinating things between the military and intel branches of the ship. Neither'd been sure of her at first, but by the time their sleep shift had popped up people had been impressed enough to start giving her an actual chance, not just say yes and semi-covertly ogle her 'assests'.

Tali'Zorah had pretty much moved to engineering and started giving them Quarian pro-tips on drive and power systems. According to Addams the ship's systems power routing efficiency was up 3% and drive power by 7%.

It also marked the first time she and her bondmate had slept 'together'. The brunette had been tense at first, but she'd behaved herself as promised. No looking, no touching, picked a corner and settled in it without a word. When they'd woken up a few hours later to the chirping of an alarm they'd cycled through the bathroom without any problems and headed to the officer's mess for breakfast.

Oddly, it'd been the best night's sleep she'd had in a long damn time.

Wrex had setup shop in the main bay and was making himself useful in the armory modding weapons for use against the Geth. Phasics, armor piercing, arc rounds. Omni's tuned for offensive apps or multipurpose drones. He also worked with Miri to re-tool a couple of her weapons for use by her bondmate so she wouldn't be stuck with standard issue shit. Admittedly N7's got decent stuff but it was still mass produced and thus _good_ , but not _great_.

Vakarian also set himself up in the man bay. Not as a cop, but as a vehicle maintenance tech able to work on the MAKO. In short order he and half the motor pool staff were modding the things for better everything. She'd assigned them to flag quarters one and while they got along decently, they'd decided to alternate sleep shifts to keep it that way. Zorah just slept on a cot in engineering, apparently soothed by the dim hum of the nearby power core and drive systems.

Her car she'd left on the Citadel in the Dark House's apartment's garage. Sending it to Thessia would've been nice but she had no idea when she'd be able to make the trip. Keeping it where she _knew_ it'd be useful was just basic sense.

Athyta, for her part, had been staying out of everyone's way, mostly by sticking in flag room two, which was assigned to her and Dr. T'Soni. While she knew _why_ her mentor had done what she'd done, it _didn't_ make it hurt any less. It did, however, point to the fact the woman had her own problems and that a lot of them were worse than her own. She'd pulled her mentor aside and told her she understood, but if she did it again she'd get dropped off at the Citadel as a danger to the mission.

Then she'd shared her ideas on taking Benezia alive and Athyta had damn near passed out she'd been so blatantly relieved. Her plan wouldn't be easy, they'd both agreed on that, but it was simple enough it wouldn't fail unless things went completely sideways. When she'd finished that conversation Athyta had been a lot less 'cornered animal' about things and had settled down.

Finally however, they were ten minutes from relay emergence and everyone was at their stations. She was where Anderson had once stood, and not comfortable with the fact. She had a job to do however so she refocused and started tapping com icons on the display before her.

"All crew, all sections set condition S2. Damage control teams and marines to stations. Specialists to briefing room two. Medical, prep for possible incoming. Tubes, load one Osiris and spin it up. Set for laser PTP link with civcom relay. One second after reversion I want a stealth launch to Therum high orbit. Joker, ten seconds after reversion I want us angled for a north/south orbit around Therum at .6 MK's."

People called out confirmations of orders and a few seconds later she felt the familiar dizzy lurch of returning to normal space. Almost immediately there was the telltale WHUMP of one of the torpedo tubes firing, then the slight lurch of the ship's maneuvering thrusters pulsing to guide them into position.

As they moved the probe, going far faster and in a generally straight line, started sending them telemetry. Pressley, more familiar with ship-scale combat operations said "Link is confirmed and clean. No hostiles showing on scopes. I have wreckage... mass and debris profile fits the CSV Tevnir. Damage indicates heavy weapons fire. Guns and beams, not missiles. No signs of radiative munitions use. No thermal bloom, no emissions, no personal beacons. From the spread I'd say she was destroyed on arrival ma'am."

So it'd been destroyed just under 6 days ago. Shit.

"Comms, use the Osiris as a relay and broadcast an all-channels hello. Sensors, if anything pops up looking for the source of that transmission classify it, run it against records, and relay it to Pressley. Pressley, if I give any orders that are gonna endanger the ship unecessarily you have command authority to counteract them."

He blinked and she explained "I have book learning and a handful of operations on glorified freighters. You have actual training and experience. That makes you better than I am at this kinda shit."

"Aye ma'am. Suggest we set condition S1 just in case."

"You heard the man people. Set condition S1 and keep a silent eye out for trouble."

Tickers over door frames shifted, listing the change in ship's status while the lighting cut to 1/2 normal as the ship's core output dropped to minimum operational levels.

"Also recommend we fire the other Osiris ma'am. The extra feed could make a hell of a difference."

"No. More shit out there's more shit the enemy might detect."

The man nodded and returned his focus the the displays before him. She suspected she'd passed some kind of test with him, but what that was she had no idea.

A minute later sensors called out "New contact! One Geth frigate making high speed for the Osiris. It's weapons are charging and active scans are sweeping the area."

She looked to Bishop, who shook his head. "Nothing that should cause us a problem."

"Good. Okay people, listen up."

"MA'AM! Dr. T'Soni just responded to hail! She's alive but in bad shape!"

"Shit! Okay people, here's the plan." She started tapping station icons and giving orders again. "Joker, on mark one I want you to bore-sight the ship's main battery on the enemy. Torpedoes, load and spin two misty's. Set 'em for PTP and visual guidance, then at mark two fire both. Rails, load but do not deploy two Odins. At mark three, fire both. Guns, at mark four I want you to flash-fire the main battery. Joker, at mark five get us somewhere the fuck else as quietly as you can."

People called out confirmations and she got on the PA system again. "All hands, brace for violent maneuvers."

She waited until the enemy was almost close enough to the Osiris it's estimated sensor profiles indicated it could tell the thing was just a drone, then said "One."

The ship lurched.

"Two."

WHUMP.

She waited a few seconds, then said "Three."

There was a distant KLACK-SNAP-WHOOSH.

She waited a few more seconds, then side "Four."

SHHHKAK!

The reek of seared electronics filled the air and the ship's systems flickered, but didn't crash.

"Five."

The ship lurched again, hard this time, and anyone that wasn't strapped into a station was thrown to the floor.

She watched the scans and exactly as planned, the cannon shot hit the enemy ship and dropped it's shields like a hooker's skirt. Then the Odin's showed up and blasted out massive broad-spectrum E/M pulses that dropped them the rest of the way and fried a lot of it's systems. Lastly, the torpedoes got there and disgorged dozens of self-guiding pool-que sized flechettes. The Geth ship lurched hard as they hit and shotgunned flaming wreckage out the the side.

The insectile ship went dark aside from stores cooking of and drive fuel burning. Pressley was silent a few seconds, then said "Enemy contact is non-viable. Not showing power emenations and her hull's lost all integrity. I'm calling that the Normandy's first ship to ship kill. Nicely done ma'am."

She nodded and ignored the fast round of celebratory fist bumps that swept the bridge. Instead she turned to Bishop and said "Check the relay's records to see if incoming ships match outgoing."

"One moment... no. A single discrepancy the rough mass of the enemy contact. No other irregularities."

"Good. From now on run that check the moment we get into a system."

"Aye ma'am, and don't be too hard on yourself. None of the rest of us thought of it either."

"I knew we could do it and I didn't the moment it was possible. That kind of idiotic mistake can get my crew killed." She stated flatly. She looked to Pressley. "I'm headed to brief one. You have com."

"Aye ma'am. Ops, set ship's condition R1. Mr. Alenko, get all marines to in-ship security stations. Motor pool, I want both MAKO fueled, loaded, and ready for field operations in ten minutes." Unlike her voice, which was harsh and flat, his was smooth and commanding. People immediately complied and she noded once to him, then jogged for her quarters to get geared up.

As she did she called the mess hall on her omni and said "I need one duffel full of water-soaked beach towels and 4 2-liter jugs of pure water at MAKO one in 8 minutes."

"Aye ma'am."

She could hear the confusion in his voice but ignored it. Instead she changed channels and said "Miri, get Wrex, Vakarian, and Ash to MAKO one. Ash is to swap her sniper for a Falcon with cratering airburst rounds and one of each type of grenade we have in stock. Wrex and Vakarian can pick whatever, and I want you carrying that PDW Wrex modded. 2 mags of APD's, two of phasics, and the Acolyte. Make sure we've got a keg of Omnigel too."

"I'll let people know."

"Thanks. See you in 5."

Exactly 5 minutes later she jogged out of the elevator into the main bay. Team one was already there and she was surprised to see Ash and Wrex were talking about the Eden Prime assault. Vakarian had his eyes locked on an omni display, and Miri was in a set of light marine armor with the loadout she'd asked for with a few useful extras.

She stopped in front of them and said "Okay people, here's what we know. The colony's gone completely dark. No emissions except the one from T'Soni, marked HVAT one. For those who don't know HVAT means high value allied target. Our job is specific and twofold. One, gather as much intel as possible. Vakarian, Miri. When we get on-site I want at least two omni-drones each out and scouting, taking samples, and recording everything for later analysis. Copy data to both your omni's and the MAKO."

Both nodded and she said "Our primary mission however, is to get HVAT one here alive and as intact as can be realistically managed. If that means you skip intel then skip the fucking intel. Dr. T'Soni is too valuable, for an assortment of reasons, to lose."

They nodded again and she said "Wrex, you're on point. You're the biggest and toughest of us with the best shields and the ability to create biotic bariers. I'm behind you, and if there's trouble you lean or go right. I'll lean or go left, and we can catch whatever it is in a crossfire."

"Feeling squishy Shepard?"

"Wrex, compared to you everyone on the ship _is_ squishy."

"HAH!"

"Miri, behind me. You're on Elint duty and medical. Scan and record everything you can, provide cover fire as needed, and when we get to HVAT one you and Williams are on evac. This is not me coddling you." She stated before the protest she could sense forming could erupt. "You're better at electronics warfare than the rest of us put together and you have more medical training than anyone on the ship but Chakwas."

The woman settled for glaring and grumbling, but otherwise settled down. Slightly.

"Williams, you're on roving support duty. Use one of each type of grenade if you can, and stick to your Mattock unless we hit heavy opposition. If we do switch to the Falcon and provide fire support. When we get to HVAT one you're to cut her clothes off and wrap her in wet towels while Miri checks her condition and renders what aid we can. Keep her hydrated at all costs. Remember, Asari are aquatic so dehydration hits them faster and harder than humans."

"Aye ma'am."

"Vakarian, you're on overwatch. If we're in close use that pistol and pop heads, joints, or other weak spots. Switch to the rifle when you can, and put big goddamn holes in the enemy. Record everything, and when we acquire HVAT one you're on guard duty."

"Not a problem."

"Perfect. Lastly, if I start growling at things everyone but Wrex and Miri are to back off. I'll be berserking and won't be able to tell friends from enemies."

"Blood rage?" Wrex inquired.

"Yeah." She brought up her omni and asked the mess officer "Where the hell is that duffel?"

"ETA 30 seconds ma'am. Janitorial was locked down from the alert and we had to break in."

She nodded and looked to Miri. "The bag's yours. Other than Wrex and I you're the best option we have so the job's yours."

"Fine, but we _will_ bloody talk about this later."

She nodded and motioend the rapidly approaching ensign over to her bondmate who scowled at the weight but didn't otherwise complain. That sorted out she said "I'm driving and Ash is in the turret. Everyone else grab a drop seat and strap in."

They piled into the IFV and once she was sure everyone was secured she signalled through the front window they were ready. The drop master lit the status lights next to the door and on the 360 degree monitor she could see people were strapping things down so the soon to be wind blasting through the bay wouldn't knock anything loose or let gear become debris.

The light blinked yellow and she called out "30 seconds!"

The door before her was already opening. The moment the light blinked green she gunned the MAKO out of of the ship. Automated stabilizers kept them upright and both Wrex and Williams whooped.

"You drive like a Krogan!" the Krogan in the tank laughed.

"That's not a good thing!" Miranda exclaimed.

In the cabin monitor she eyed the people behind her. Ash was grinning like a loon, Wrex looked like he was having the time of his life, Miri wasn't the least bit happy and amusingly, Vakarian seemed too buried in tactical feeds to care.

100 meters short of the LZ she pulsed the mass effect core and the jets, slowed their descent to about 5 klicks an hour, then held on when they hit the dirt. They wobbled, skidded for a moment, then stabilized.

A second later she pointed them at the dig site and romped on the throttle.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda looked around as the group filed out of the tank. Bodies in all directions, most of them blue splattered with purple. Still-smouldering tents and equipment. Volcanic dust swirling through the air in quick eddies and whirls. The sun overhead, mountains to all sides. A river of lava crawling along about a hundred meters to her left with a thermal sink stuck in it providing power.

She didn't see anything amiss, other than the devestation, then used the com system built into her helmet to call out "Clear right!"

"Clear left!"

"Clear rear!"

"Clear front!"

"Clear all! Deploy omni's and let's get going."

She raised her wrist, typed in the right commands, and fired off four of them on semi-random paths in different directions. Vakarian did the same, and she lifted her gun up into ready position. She hadn't fired it yet but the thing was compact, brutally effecient, and minimalistic. Considering Shepard seemed to live by 'There's no kill like overkill' she figured it was a mini wrecking ball.

She fell into position behind Shepard, wondered why the woman was so short, and then focused on her job. A hundred meters of jogging later they were at the airlock embedded in the side of the mountain. A standard round 'vault' style setup that was damn near impossible to screw up.

They scyled through, though the squad barely fit inside, and then started hustling their way down a tunnel that'd been bored, via laser if the smoothness of the walls was any indication, down towards the actual dig site.

They were nearly to the bottom when She sensed Shepard's emotions going dead a split second before the woman called out "CONTACT FRONT!" and leaned left. A half second later the tunnel thundered, pressure slapping every inch of her while sound so primal and loud even her helmet could barely dim it, temporarily deafened her.

She focused through it, saw muzzle flashes from Shepard's odd rifle, and then followed in close when her armor's IBND relayed the command. All of them sprinted, the Krogan surprisingly quick and the IBND updated with 'go to' cover positions sorted by name. She dove, rolled, spun, and came up with her back against a stack of crates. A quick look confirmed everyone else had gotten to cover and wasn't injured. So far, so good.

As she'd been taught she unfocused her mind, distanced herself, and let the scene wash over her like someone watching a movie. Look for strength, look for weakness. Appraise strongpoints and vulnerabilities, then hit the enemy where they're weakest.

 _The Warmaster and the Turian were taking the Prime. Avoid crossfire, leave to allied assets._

 _The human was targeting the enemy support units. Avoid crossfire, leave to allied asset._

 _Shepard was targeting battlemaster. Avoid crossfire, leave to alpha/mate command._

 _All other targets viable/no assets assigned._

 _Mech next to battlemaster, known strengths heavy armor and shields. Known weaknesses energy pulses, centralized sensors, distributed computational network._

 _Setup E/M white noise to isolate. Energy pulse to disrupt shields. PDW, short bursts to test recoil/rise. Heavy recoil, no rise, ammunition has heavy AP effect. Broad fire pattern, seek more weakness. Noted. Power core, base of neck behind main torso plating. Comm system in upper back. Unit terminated._

 _Shift fire, new target. Pulse, focus fire on power core. Unit terminated._

 _Ammunition low. Enemy retaliating. Cover and reload. Assess IBND. Five enemies terminated. Two badly damaged. Three functional but disorganized. Pulse grenade, toss over cover behind units. Wait for effect. Expose from cover and fire._

 _F_ _ear pulse from_ alpha/mate

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard reloaded, her battle rifle's muzzle wafting smoke as she popped out the spent mag, then slapped in another 20-pack of 12mm AP/C. The eney Krogan was finally down for the count, thouhg it'd taken her 2 mags of armor piercing/cryogenic ammo to put his too-stupid-to-die ass down.

A quick look around was nothing but good news. Williams had tossed half her grenades, and was keeping the prime distracted while Wrex and Vakarian took it apart. Miri seemed to be doing well too, and had downed 4 of the basic infantry models on her own. Nice.

The Prime, already badly damaged, seemed to realize it was going to get scrapped soon and started charging up some kind of heavy weapon's pod in it's right arm. She automatically figured the likely impact site, almost froze in fear, shot it in the face even as she opened her mouth to warn Miri, and then it fired.

The bond instantly warped from focused and clear to jagged burning pain.

The world dimmed, hazed, darkness laced in crimson.

 _ **Assess/prioritize/kill.**_

 _ **Command unit**_ **SlaughterMurderAnnihilateButcher** ** _stunned. Momentary non-threat._**

 _ **Enemy Krogan. Dead. Non-threat.**_

 _ **Support unit. Scrapped. Non-threat.**_

 _ **7 enemy infantry.**_

 _ **Four scrapped. Non-Threat.**_

 _ **Three functional. Active threats.**_

 _ **Draw blade, target, close to melee.**_

 _ **Piercing the soul, wrath of the deeps, end with skies falling.**_

 _ **Target eliminated.**_

 _ **Retarget, support unit recovered/sighting in on overwatch.**_

 _ **Waves-into-cliffs, Lerista darting, starlight rising, end in Athame's fury.**_

 _ **Target eliminated.**_

 _ **Retarget. Target destroyed before action possible.**_

 _ **Retarget, command unit**_ **KillRendTearBurnShatterGENOCIDE** ** _functional. Active_ KILLKILLKILL _threat._**

 _ **Close to melee. Vest'aas, headbutt. Niravi'i, uppercut. Jump-spin-Niravi'i-kick. Nrei'kt arms, tear off. Niravi neck, sever. Rrek't, immolate, burn...**_

"SHEPARD!"

 _ **Haze fading, assess.**_

 _ **No surviving enemy assets.**_

 _ **Miranda**_ **protectmate** _ **, safe, furious, scared.**_

Reason returned and she scowled as she lowered her sword.

"Spirits! Remind me not to piss you off lady."

Wrex chuckled. "Nice work kid but you let the blood rage take you. Gotta learn to control it or one day or it'll get ya killed."

Suddenly exhausted, she wearily replied "Already has. Didn't take."

He nodded and said "Wish I could say I didn't know what it's like. Still, the moment your mate called you calmed down so there's hope for ya."

"She's not my mate!" they countered in emphatic unison.

Everyone looked surprised, then started snickering. The pair of them glaring at people didn't seem to help.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

She cursed and started jogging, looking for the source of the weak raspy voice. A few corridors and a trip down structurally iffy stairs later she spotted the Asari and called out "Miri! Ash! Once you get her wrapped dump two of the bottles on her and another once we're outside!"

Both called back confirmation and she ran over, kneeled, and didn't bother asking how the target was. Her skin was pale and rough, her crest was curled in like the legs on a dead insect, her lips were the color of pale ash. If they didn't get her to treatment, soon, she was dead. As it was they were dancing the razor's edge of the point of no return.

"Are... you real? I've been seeing... things. Nothing... makes sense."

"I'm real Dr. T'Soni. Hold on, we'll get you out of there in a minute."

"I... who? You look... odd."

"She is!"

She ignored Miri's comment as well as the renewed snickering it inspired from the rest of her squad, instead looking around for a way past the barrier. After a minute she spotted the mining laser and used a combination of eye movements to send people 'move to' points as she said "I'll be right back doc."

She ran up to the laser, diagnosed it's systems, then used some omnigel to splice a few de-linked components. There was light, heat, and a huge shuddering cracking sound. She checked and a hole had been bored through the bedrock into the tower. Without waiting she enveloped her feet with biotic barriers and ran through the tunnel.

A quick search produced the control plinth in the middle of the semi-collapsed central shaft. Without thinking she swiped and tapped a few icons, then nodded when a KZak! sound popped. By the time she'd made it back Miri and Ash were in the process of hooking the doc up to an IV line connected to a bag of medicated H2O and cutting her clothes off.

"Vakarian, records on the enemy. Wrex, grab their weapons."

As they did that she stuck anything of the doc's that looked even remotely valuable into a small pack she grabbed off a nearby dead body alongs with a few chunks of enemy armor, then checked on the target.

Miri didn't look happy but she rarely did so it wasn't much of a tell. "She's borderline. We need to get her to medical immediately." The brunette stated as she slowly upended part of a bottle of water on the blue's face and torso.

She stood and called out "You heard the lady people! Secure your shit and... "

The entire room lurched, and she heard a not-so-distant rumble as things ground together on a tectonic level.

"RUN!"

No one wasted time ignoring the order, they just started trying to set new land speed records. Once they were outside she bellowed "UP THE MOUNTAIN!" and they started climbing it as fast as they could. Running, jumping, climbing, scrabbling. Tossing the doc and her stretcher back and forth as needed until they were standing at the peak looking down. The MAKO had already been enveloped in lava and mountains around them were blowing their tops. The valley they'd driven through was already half full and rising.

"Apex to Normandy. Estimate 90 seconds until unit's swimming in molten fuck-all. I'm authorizing burn speed."

Pressley's seemingly unflappable coice replied "On our way Apex. Estimate 70 seconds. I suggest you brace for arrival."

She nodded and said "Dump the rest of the water on T'Soni and anchor yourselves to something solid people. The Normandy's inbound for a high speed pickup." Suiting actions to words, she pulled her knife out of it's sheath and slammed it into a nearby boulder. Others did the same and they ditched the stretcher for Wrex's arms.

80 seconds after the call the Normandy roared to a stop over them, drives angled down, the ramp already extended to crunch into the ground next to them. Marines ran out to help people aboard and start rendering medical aid. Liara. . Vakarian. Miri...

There was a rumbling explosion. Shockwaves. Sound that clawed at her brain. The ship lurched, throwing two marines into the lava, dipping part of the forward port drives into the lava, and launching Miri into the air.

Everything froze.

Crystallized.

Razored clarity.

Miri, arcing through the air towards the rising lava.

The lava only seconds away from immolating her.

The Normandy, opposite her, bay door still open with Miri vaguely between them.

 _Athame, I don't know if you're listening but please, let me do this one thing right._

She focused, plotted angles, used a sideways pull, and then everything turned blue.

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

CSV - Citadel Space Vehicle. A designation for all non-aligned civilian space craft. If a ship belongs to a government or is officially affiliated with that government, they use that government's designation system. Thus if the Normandy was a Merc Ship, it'd be CMV Normandy. If it were Asari, it'd be ARDF (Asari Republic Defense Force) and so on. The Normandy's twin, which was built in a Turian shipyard, is the HM (Heirarchy Military) Drivkis (Named after a military legend from Turian History who'd founded, trained, and deployed the first Heiratchy special operations units)

K2 - Thousand Kilometers/Kilo-klick

MK - Million Kilometers

IBND - Integrated Battle Network Display. A 'battlefield internet' system for infantry that estimates enemy conditions, relays positions, and keeps you up to date on your squad's condition and positions. It also has nav displays, comms management, and proximity scans via omnidirectional thermal/motion tracking micro sensors built into helmets. All controllable with eye movements, blinks, and verbal commands.

Torpedo and Missile Types

Osiris - Recon drone. They're just as stealthy as the Normandy and have a huge array of passive sensors.

Odin - Energy Pulse Torpedo. They're essentially short duration (1 hour lifetime) capacitors hooked to a large number of different energy emitters including electrical, plasma, and X-Ray. Just before firing they're flash-charged by the ship's core and launched a second later. Extremely good at taking down or hammering ship's shields, they're pretty damn expensive so they're not used much.

Misty - Think a self-guiding ship scale single shot flechette shotgun. Called a 'Misty' because a lot of the time they do so much damage, the decompression of the crew, most of whom aren't in protective gear, explode and splash out of the breaches like red fog.

Medusa - Essentially MIRV nukes with 9 tactical yield warheads. VERY expensive to produce, plus their use is heavily regulated. Shepard, since she's a Spectre, is an exception to those regulations and just has to file the right datawork.

Missile 'rails' - In real life a lot of modern naval missile ships use in-ship magazines that can select, then load missile types as needed by having a turret with a rail missiles are mechanically auto-loaded onto from the ship, then aimed and fired. The Normandy can 'half load' rounds, essentially get the right missiles ready to load to rails, without the rails themselves being deployed from the ship (It's several hundred years in the future so the ship's sails can collapse a lot like most infantry scale guns). The rails themselves can be flipped out and ready to go in 3 seconds, with loading taking another 2.

Hot-Charging a ship's battery - Normally a railgun would charge capacitors from the core then discharge them as needed. Youtube has plenty of examples of real life railguns people have made in their garages. What Hot-Charging does is skip the capacitors and use a power spike from the ship's core routed through specially hardened plasma conduits though it damages the guns, damages the conduits, and could potentially blow up the ship if the core overloads.

HVAT - High Value Allied Target. Pretty much self explanatory

HVET - High Value Enemy Target. Pretty much self explanatory

Ship Conditions

D2 - Dockside, core inactive, ship shut down.

D1 - Dockside, core at minimum standby power, ship otherwise shut down

D0 - Dockside, all ship's systems at minimum power standby but ready to bring up to normal power levels as needed.

C1 - Cruise, weapons cold. Used when going from place to place in safe areas.

C0 - Cruise, weapons ready. Used when the ship's travelling through potentially dangerous territory, but isn't actually expecting trouble.

R2 - Ready for combat. All systems at combat levels, looking for targets or threats, weapons inactive but ready to be used immediately if necessary.

R1 - Ready for combat. Ships systems at combat levels, looking for targets, weapons and shields charged but not deployed. Omni armor systems also charged but not deployed. Gardian array charged and looking for targets. Marines ready for deloyment in or off the ship if needed.

R0 - Not used very often because it means 'Ship is in combat'.

S3 - Stealth. Ships power running at low/conventional levels, adaptive visual hull plating still at default, ECM and ECCM active, active sensors operating at minimum levels.

S2 - Stealth. Ship running on low power, all emission systems (Sensors, outgoing comms, etc) offline, ECM and ECCM on but field of effect is pulled much tighter in so it doesn't leave a large void on people's sensors. Ship's main drive on, but operating in 'cold' mode to reduce it's signature, though it can only do this for a limited time as it requires liquid helium being sprayed over their jetwash to conceal it's thermal profile. Hull plating online in set-image mode.

S1 - Stealth. Ship running on minimal power. Main core operating in low power mode. Life support running at minimal safe levels. ECM and ECCM fields extend only 100 meters from the ship, but create an absolute sensor void inside that 99.9% of sensors don't notice. Ship's drives offline, movement by maneuvering thrusters and inertia only. Shields, omni-armor, and most weapons offline. Torpedoes able to be fired since the Normandy uses special 'stealthy' torpedoes. Hull plating in live-update mode. Liquid helium is spray-misted into the reactor room to keep it as cool as possible, thus lowering it's signature and increasing it's efficieny for up to 20 hours.

Shepard and Miranda's combat

I did my best to use font and terminology changes to illustrate the differences in their fighting mentality. Unfortunately, the font and formatting I'd used was cleared by the document manager so this's 'Chapter 16 lite'. In any case, Miranda is clinical, methodical, analytical, with a cost/benefit mindset focused on survival. Shepard is agressive, feral, focused on destroying everything she classifies as an enemy. Both are acting in a semi-unconscious, or maybe superconscious, state so when they regain their wits all they really remember is that it happened and a few mental snapshots.

Needless to say Shepard is fucked up (Again), Miri's banged up but not bad overall, Ash, Wrex, and Garrus are fine. Liara's only mostly dead, which is good because she has no pockets left to look throug for loose change. Athyta's almost giddy Liara's alive, and Shepard, because of Shepard's detouring to do it, and using a totally new concept in treating dehydrated Asari (The towel trick) is now one of her favorite people ever on top of being an adopted sister and her current 'fixit' project. Needless to say, anyone that fucks with Shepard isn't gonna live long. Think Godzilla with biotics, cram it into an Asari special forces Tier 1 operator with a thousand years in the field, and piss it off.

Next up, Bonding, reconciliation (Sort of), and Shepard ball Z!


	17. Chapter 17

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues

Special thanks to my beta reader, BlueMarlin!

CH - 17

Aethyta looked at the emaciated, dry, almost dead body of her daughter with a mix of terror, relief, and disgust. How close her daughter had been to dying, and how she'd damn near cost Liara what little chance she'd had by getting drunk and outright breaking the only one who could help.

Drinking had always been how she handled stress. Nezzie had gotten her to lay off the booze but when things with her had fallen apart, well, so had she. Now, with her bondmate seemingly either turned evil or somehow been enslaved, she'd been drinking like a Volus during a stock market lurch.

If not for Shepard outright _ignoring_ her superiors to chase after a weak lead and a potential enemy she'd have nothing. No daughter, no bondmate, no point to living anymore.

She winced when she saw/felt little wing's nervous system ripple as the kid stirred slightly for a moment, before settling again. According to the doctor, Chakwas, little wing was having troubled sleep. Bad dreams, possibly mild nightmares. Considering what the kid had to have just been through she was glad her sleep was being plagued by only mild nightmares. She'd seen that kind of situation break people five times Liara's age.

She grimaced and shook her head. According to Chakwas, if not for the kid's 'Towel Trick' and timing she wouldn't be looking at a live body, she'd be looking at a body _bag_.

 _I might be a booze-soaked idiot but even I know that kinda thing deserves more than a thank you. I owe her two lives. If her plan for taking Nezzie alive works, I'll owe her three. If Shepard wasn't worse off than Liara I'd go over there and swear blood bond right now._

She grimaced and looked up as Dr. Chakwas walked in and asked how her daughter was doing.

"She's alive. Past that you're a better judge of how she's doing than I am doc."

The Grey-haired woman nodded and checked a few monitors, then smiled. "She's a tough little thing, I'll give her that. Vitals are weak but she's out of danger. No signs of lingering neurological damage, vascular damage, or organ damage either. She might have a few scars where her skin cracked and her crest will always have a slight inward curl, but past that she'll be fine. What about you?"

She blinked and looked up. "Huh?"

"Anyone can tell you're, as we humans say, running on fumes. You need rest and food before you collapse."

She shook her head and countered "I can't leave her doc. I did that once and it got us here. Not gonna make that mistake again."

"You'll be only a few meters away and if anything happens I'll call you immediately. Remember, you're no good to her if you collapse from a lack of food or exhaustion. Don't worry about anyone bothering her. If they do," the woman added with a quick smirk, "I'll tell Shepard someone's commenting on her breast size."

She chuckled the whole way to the officer's dining hall. When she got there a few dozen steps later she headed over to the so-called buffet, and grabbed a tray, then loaded it with food. Meat mostly, but that was fine since human fighters tended to like it themselves so they had plenty on hand.

She then grabbed a small jug of water and headed to a table in the corner where no one would bother her. She'd gotten about ten bites in and realized she really was ravenous when the human ground unit's commander Alenko walked over and sat down opposite her.

"Matriarch Aethyta. Glad to see you're up and about."

She snorted. "There's no need to fake being friendly kid. People on this ship hate my guts for what I did to Shepard."

To her surprise he shook his head. "For a while they did, then they heard why and, well, a lot of us have been in similar situations. Families we're estranged from, a lot because we used to like a bottle too much. A dozen or so of the crew are divorced because they drank like fish and were never around when their spouses needed them. Three I won't name have lost children. Either to hate that blew up in their faces or because when their kid needed someone around to keep them happy and safe, there was no one there."

She grimaced. "So they pity me?"

"Sympathize. Pity implies people don't hold you responsible. Sympathy means they know how you feel and while they don't approve, enough of them made the same damn mistakes they can't really hate you for doing it yourself."

He chuckled and shook his head. "In a weird way it makes you less of a legend and more of a person. Beings with a military history like yours don't exactly grow on trees."

She took a moment to grab another bite of food and chew it while she let that process. After swallowing she asked "How did people fix things?"

"The trite answer would be to say stop making the same mistakes. The realistic answer is, it's a fight every minute of every day. A few of us get together, talk things out so we don't bottle our problems up to point the only way we know how to handle things is to drown them in booze." He shrugged. "It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best humanity's managed to come up with. Works well enough other races can use it though so you might wanna give it a shot."

"Not interested in being gossiped about kid."

"Absolute privacy is one of the rules. Said a few things at meetings myself that could ruin my career if they got out. Notice I'm not in a brig." He said with a grin. After a moment his look sobered and he said "No one gets forced to go, but if you're willing to work with people who've been in the same general area you are I'd give it a shot. It's not like it'll cost you anything but time."

"What about Liara?"

The man snorted. "Pro tip for dealing with human doctors ma'am. Consider them dictatorial despots. They mean well and are friendly, usually, but no one in their right mind pisses one off. If Chakwas says your girl's safe then she's as safe as can be aboard this tub."

After another bite, she nodded. "I'll give it a shot. No promises."

He nodded, then poked at something the buffet had sworn was mashed potatoes. "You'd think after a thousand years of people operating for extended periods aboard ships they'd figure out how to make food that _didn't_ look like something that came out the other end."

"Trust me kid. I've been around more than a thousand years and one of the few constants is that you never get enough sleep, ammo, medicine, or food that _doesn't_ look and taste like something you'd feed a Varren." she replied with a chuckle.

-^V^- -^V^-

"... breast size."

Miranda couldn't help smiling and shaking her head. Shepard was _never_ going to live that down. A joke had even popped up about it, told when people thought neither of them could hear it.

The Butcher. Defender of the innocent, vanquisher of evil, protector of boobs.

Amusing, in a lack-wit way.

She heard that infuriating woman Aethyta get up and leave and couldn't help a bitter mental middle finger pointed in her general direction. It was petty but, she figured, deserved. After a moment she sighed and shook her head again, her bangs falling over her face for a moment before she brushed them back out of the way with a hand.

Aethyta was, despite being utterly infuriating, not her problem however. Shepard was. The pint-sized butcher had nearly killed herself _twice_ defending her. Sure the first had done as much harm as good but this time...

This time she had a concussion, a few sprained joints, and a lot of bruising. Nothing a few days of food and rest wouldn't heal and no permanent or even lingering effects. Considering the alternative, she figured she didn't have a bloody thing to be the least bit upset over other than what Shepard had done to herself in the process of tackling her into the ship while pulling off a multi-stage biotic charge _over lava_.

The redhead had pretty much literally splattered herself across a main bay wall so hard the impact had crushed several of the ship's systems tucked away behind 3 cm thick armor plating. Armor plating that now needed replacing thanks to a half meter deep dent in it and blood being splashed across most of it.

Shepard had turned herself into a literal _smear on the wall_ to save her life.

Chakwas had been in surgery for hours, just trying to keep the scarred git from literally falling apart. It would've been easier to count the number of bones she _hadn't_ broken, and enough of the redhead's internal organs had been either shredded or flat out popped like balloons that despite her regenerative abilities, she was still on life support 12 hours after they'd left Therum.

Shepard was a mess in every sense of the word. Her personality had a lot in common with a MAKO, she overreacted to things constantly, she didn't take care of herself except to make sure she was combat effective and, oddly, her hair. Even that she didn't take _good_ care of, most likely because she flat out didn't know how.

But for all of that, Shepard had proven she'd do anything, including sacrifice her own life without hesitation, to keep her safe. No reward asked or expected. Not even a simple thank you.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Good, but in an uncertain and choking way that she had no idea how to process.

That and guilty.

She looked up as Chakwas asked "Can I come in?"

"You may." She replied, setting down the tablet she'd been using to read a book.

The silver haired woman edged through the hard-cloth 'door' of her cubical and asked what her pain level was.

"Four. Quite tolerable."

The doctor grimaced. "Most people wouldn't call a four 'quite tolerable' Ms. Lawson. Why you do I'd likely be happier not knowing."

"You would, believe me."

"Hmm. Follow the light please."

She waited as a pen light was produced from a pocket, then did so as it was slowly moved about. Once it was put away the doctor ran several other quick tests then said "Your concussion is nearly healed. The complete lack of response to percussive nerve assays is worrying but you don't seem to have any coordination or tracking issues. The bruising is also fading rapidly and the stress on your joints is healing nicely. I'd say you'll be back on your feet in a day or so."

"Good."

"You're welcome."

She blinked, then sighed. "I apologize. I'm still... processing recent events."

"Understandable. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Unless you can somehow force the universe to make sense I'd have to say no, thank you."

To her surprise the doctor chuckled. "I know just how you feel."

-^V^- -^V^-

Udina scowled as he looked at the latest reports from the Normandy. Shepard was in an ICU again after having pulled yet another rabbit out of her hat rescuing her bondmate _again._ In the process she'd invented a totally new first responder treatment for dehydrated Asari, and had flat out ignored Valern.

That last one made his day. Anything that deflated that self-important fool was high on his list of enjoyable pastimes. Never mind the fact Valern had lost his mate and 8 eggs in a terrorist attack by people claiming to be isolationist extremists. If things were that bad you needed to step back and let someone else handle things while you pulled yourself back together.

He couldn't get an angle on Sparatus. The man was a puppet, but for whom no one he'd been able to contact could find out. Primarch? Blackwatch? Ghost Directorate? Someone else? The AIS had been looking for years but so far had gotten next to nothing on him. Still, the man was polite, well-spoken, and at least _understood_ many of Humanity's needs even if he didn't necessarily _agree_ with them.

Odd, that the only councilor that 'got' humanity was the one who's people had been hours away from the complete _genocide of_ humanity.

Tevos was easy, though surprisingly not in every meaning of the word. She ate, drank, slept, and worked. Never bonded with anyone outside the so-called 'Consort' Sha'ira's glorified whorehouse and even then rarely. She hated her job with a bitterness that he hadn't thought an Asari capable, of, and had _never_ spoken of retirement while most everyone else wouldn't shut up about it. Regardless of the blatant restrictions the 'woman' lived under and the resentment it inspired she still did her job.

He had to admit he admired that kind of grit.

"Sir?"

He looked up as his assistant's voice sounded over the intercom. "Yes Maria?"

"You need to check the front page for Vanya sir. Someone did something _very_ stupid."

He blinked and switched the holo-painting of a forest on a wall over to a multi-window extranet feed. He flicked a finger a few times, then saw what she was talking about and scowled. If someone had done what he thought they'd done...

He tapped 'play and watched William's helmet cam footage as Shepard saved her bondmate's life on Eden Prime that then blended into a clip of her charging over _molten rock_ of all things, saving the brunette's life a second time. While both clips were, he supposed, romantic, they were lit fuses on a bomb called Butcher.

"Find out who's behind that idiocy and point the AIS at them for leaking highly classified materials. While this could, potentially, counter that Al-Jilani hack it very definitely will upset both Shepard and Ms. Lawson."

"Already working on it sir. I also took the liberty of contacting the relay agent for the Spectres assigned to Ms. Lawson's father. He's disappeared. With him publicly out of the picture however his companies are beginning to flounder. Attempts to directly investigate his finances have resulted in the freezing of many of those assets despite the entire law firm of Gorsin and Peltier filing enough suits, injunctions, and petitions to choke the citadel courts for a year."

"Litigatory grandstanding. Ignore it."

"Yes sir. The fact her father has been driven underground and his business efforts crippled should defuse Ms. Lawson however. It'll also win us points with Shepard and Matriarch Aethyta by association."

That actually managed to surprise him. Once he processed the ramifications he smiled. "Very adept work. Don't contact them about it until they return to the Citadel and we can handle it in person."

"Yes sir. I also thought I'd mention that one of Shepard's sisters, Elsa, has chartered a shuttle from Earth to here in one week. The captain is a known smuggler so that may not bode well. Should I see if someone can intercept her before she gets here?"

He shook his head. "Don't bother. At best you'd annoy her, at worst you'd get whoever accosted her very messily killed. Since she's not making an effort to hide her tracks and she's coming from Earth she's likely bringing supplies for Shepard. Meet her when she arrives and if she is, see she gets through customs without issue. Use embassy authority if you have to."

"Yes sir."

He frowned, then said "As for this Vanya idiocy, contact Ms. Wong and release a statement that the Normandy is tracking potential leads on Saren and that the Asari they rescued is a witness under SA protection that's currently receiving medical care but will make a full recovery. No further details will be forthcoming." He was silent a moment, then smirked and added "Also, point out that Shepard's done more to protect her significant other in a month than most humans even _attempt_ in their entire lives, and regularly shows more humanity than many humans."

"Guilt tripping people into basic ethics sir?" He didn't miss the amused note in the woman's voice. He chuckled and replied "To quote Colonel Anderson, whatever gets the job done."

-^V^- -^V^-

Tevos scowled as she mused that the worst parts of her job weren't the constant threat of death or even the utter lack of privacy. Being forced from one power play to the next with no way to 'win' in any perceivable way other than no wars erupted and she wasn't killed on the spot. Companionship of any kind was all but barred.

The life she led was one most people would've called intolerable. She'd seen people kill themselves with less justification, and no few times that Asari she'd known had thrown themselves into the embrace of the goddess so far they'd never come back.

No, what really made her want to scream and rip off her crests was the never-ending _datawork_.

Reports on everything conceivable by the hundreds. Depositions by the dozen. Stacks of secured tablets loaded with proposals of every kind dominated literally a third of her desk. Then there was the never-ending stream of notes, messages, and plain old digi-mail. 18 hours a day, every day, unless she was at an event.

The only freedom she had was when she was asleep. While she couldn't remember her dreams, she almost always woke up feeling better enough to get through the day.

She sensed someone approaching and looked up just as her 'assistant' walked in unannounced. "The Cresting Wave just arrived and is 'requesting' a place to park. See it's denied."

She snorted. "They have every right under both law and tradition to be here. As long as they don't do anything untoward I have exactly zero authority over them. Not to mention thanks to your interference, the _one_ potential link I had into the T'Soni household is now an enemy, not an ally. They'd be less inclined to listen to me than you would."

"Don't blame that operation on me! It was your stupidity... "

She hadn't had sleep in nearly a week and was only awake thanks to an endless supply of energy drinks and booze so she was a bit on the, how did the humans call it? Not giving a shit side of things?

"I had that entire situation under control until _you_ decided to try to blackmail their keeper of histories. If not for your _insane_ need to domineer everything and everyone in your reach we'd not be _in_ this position! Now you want me to force people you made enemies of into doing what you want despite the fact doing so violates some of our most basic and severe laws?"

The unholy creature before her was glaring hate at her but she was right and they both knew it.

"You also ignore the fact that that ship is likely full of Justicars here for inquisition. If the diplomatic caste in _any_ way attempts to hinder them we'll be violating the code. How far do you think you'd get bullying _them_ before they simply kill you?"

That perked up an idea in her head and she hid it through only the greatest of effort.

"If that ship does _anything_ you can arrest it's occupants for I want C-Sec swarming it's halls before the hour is up. I _won't_ forget this Pria'jj."

"You've never needed a reason to hate me Nx'serrice. The fact you'd simply add another to that list is hardly surprising. What I _will_ do, she retorted, "is my duty. I'm headed to the starport to see if I can somehow convince the Justicars to limit their focus to the T'Soni family. The absolute last thing we need is for them to decide to scour the Citadel of criminals."

 _And the last thing_ _ **you**_ _need_ , she silently added, _is for me to submit to inquisition myself. They might kill me for whatever it was I did, but they_ _ **will**_ _kill you._

Once the infuriating woman was gone she fetched a bottle of Kelsiti Darkwine out of her desk and poured herself a finger glass of potential death. It was the kind of 'hard' drink people of means put down to either look brave or because they weren't worried about dying. If you survived it however, you could face anything without fear because the part of your brain that processed the concept would be swimming in nerve-deadening chemicals.

She grimaced at it, then put the ornate glass to her lips and upended it.

-^V^- -^V^-

Walking into Cindy's shop was, as always, an experience. Once you got past the custom built multi-layered security/defense grid you were in one huge open space full of beyond next generation tech of all kinds, sprawling super-tech machinery, custom built scanners, chemicals, a thousand unrecognizable gadgets or half-finished projects making muted but seemingly chaotic sounds, and the air reeked of hot machinery, hot chems, and ozone.

The proverbial mad scientist's lab, complete with having been built underground.

Or, more accurately, _re_ built.

People had been looking for Cindy's base of operations for decades. They'd looked over every inch of the surface. The moon, the asteroid belt, and past. But they'd never once thought to look _down_. Thus they'd never discovered that Cindy was based out of the re-purposed remains of some old sport's stadium that'd been buried during the unification war. Earthquake, sandstorm, she wasn't sure even Cindy knew who's or what sports had been played in it.

Then again, Cindy probably didn't care.

An AI appeared in front of her, a pretty and friendly version of her super-scientist sister. It smiled and greeted her. "Hello Elsa. Need a guide?"

"Yes, please. How is she?"

As they started walking the digital ghost sighed. "The same as usual. Underfed, dirty, dressed like a science slob, and totally disconnected from anything resembling reality. Universe of one pretty much, though she did make some stuff for you and the others. Mostly Shepard. That girl goes through armor like some people go through beer."

She groaned and asked "What'd Tick do _this_ time?"

A video window appeared in front of her and a bit high so she could watch it without losing spatial awareness. On it Shepard rescued her bondmate again, this time by using an entire ship as an air brake. Other than the fact the short woman's biotics seemed to be growing in power and focus however, she wasn't really surprised.

"Her status?"

"Critical. Her ship's making flank for the citadel since right now the best that doctor can do is keep her from falling apart like a badly made burrito. Interestingly, analysis of Ms. Lawson indicates her hatred of Shepard seems to be waning fairly quickly."

"Hard to stay mad at someone who does shit like that to save your life." She replied, shrugging. "You figure out how mini-me's upgrading her biotics?"

"My current theory is that she can only use complex techniques when her bondmate is in enough danger it forces her to focus enough to make such things possible. It's not unheard-of in the Asari, though it is pretty rare."

"That's about what I figured. What it is about Ms. Lawson that's making it possible is what's got me worried. She's only been able to pull off those techniques and that kind of desperate inventiveness while we were in the program and one of our sisters was under direct threat."

"Is that why they didn't kill her, despite her abnormally short stature?"

"According to the Hellion Project files Mr. Harper gave me, that and because what she lacked in raw power she made up for in sheer vicious lethality. It's a good thing we got out when we did. Another month and she'd have been fodder for stage two."

"Cybernetic augmentation, correct?"

"Yeah. They'd already found a baseline template they could clone so they were gearing up for the next stage of operations."

"That would have been... difficult to survive."

She grimaced. "Impossible, actually. I was the only 'success' of stage one and I was slated for deconstruction. Fuckers were going to experiment on the others for baseline mods, then on me organ by organ so they could do preliminary systems integration testing. Like I said, those of us who managed to escape owe Shepard our lives. If not for her realizing we had a chance at freedom we'd be parts in someone's freezer."

"Well that's not ominous at all. Turn left and she'll be working on a compact high energy capacitor system. Whatever you do, _don't_ startle her. It'd cause a 7 kiloton electro-plasma explosion."

"The hell's she building _this_ time?"

"Know that huge cannon she built for ship so ship use?"

"She making another one?"

"No. She managed to miniaturize the components to infantry size. Lower power, but the test shot had her grinning like a maniac. Before you ask she built you one, but suggests you not fire it frequently. Aside from the reactions to it firing it actually damages it. Ten shots or so before it risks blowing itself up."

"Daaaaamn. All I have for her's candy."

"Don't sweat it." The AI said with a chuckle. "She'll consider it an even trade."

"She always did. Honestly, candy was everyone's happy time." She chuckled. "When we were still on the streets we blew people's minds. They'd pull of some huge thing and head to a bar, get smashed, and fuck anything that'd hold still. Us? Hit up every local shop that sold candy and chocolate milk. Pig out until we couldn't eat another bite, then sleep for a solid day."

"As celebratory traditions go there have certainly been a lot worse, though I'd imagine it wasn't good for your waistlines."

"We're all high strung compulsive fitness freaks. Burning calories was never an issue."

"Oh, I know. Just making small talk. Cindy's not one for idle conversation unless you're a machine part."

"Why'd she make you then?"

"Honestly? I think I'm what she wishes she was so she made me, shed that part of her life, and is okay with what she is knowing there's a better 'her' to handle the shit she wishes she could do but knows she can't."

They rounded the corner of a storage shelf loaded to the limits full of unidentifiable tech and as was usual, Cindy didn't look up from her work to say hello. The smartest of her sisters just said "Be with you momentarily. Don't touch anything."

With nothing else she could do, she turned to the AI and asked "Anything new from _him_?"

"Nothing, but I think he gave us everything he could up front as a gesture of goodwill. He's smart enough to know if he doesn't play things 100% up front and honest we'll track his ass down and feed him to a plasma core as fuel. As for actually _verifying_ it all, so far everything checks out."

"So if not for him we'd all be dead or worse. Wonderful. Shepard's gonna love hearing that. She hates piss shields on instinct."

"Which is why everyone's agreed to not tell her. In good news the Normandy's doctor, Chakwas, has noted in her logs that Shepard's not to be let out of the hospital until she's made a full recovery. She also," the digital doppelganger noted with a grin, "has made a few choice comments about Shepard's frequent trips to an ICU and her 'so stupid the fool must be a diehard romantic in complete denial' tendencies. She's also planning on getting on her ass about her scars since, as she discussed with and agreed with Ms. Lawson, civilized people don't run around scarred up like Krogan battlemasters. Especially not Asari nobles with estates to call home that drive around in expensive sport cars."

"Good. Hopefully the two of them can get Tick to grow up a bit."

"Looks immaterial." Cindy countered, straightening from her work. "Focus on appearance counterproductive to combat effectiveness. Better for survival to train and engage in PT. Attitude about hair is detrimental. Makes armor fabrication more difficult. Channels and pockets for excessive hair lessens potential kinetic protection."

She regarded her sister dubiously. "Why don't you work out then?"

"Not specialized for combat. Thinker, not fighter. Can kill if required but not like others. Was 3 days from re-purposing when siblings escaped. If base defenses penetrated chances of survival therefore remote. Better to reduce enemy capability to attack others."

Despite it's stilted and clinical delivery, she knew that was Cindy's way of saying "I know I can't fight but I won't let the enemy use me to get to you."

"Thanks Cindy. Your message said new gear?"

"Yes." The woman actually smiled. That meant whatever she'd come up with was incredible by even her standards. "Weapons, armor, equipment for Shepard. Reliable, using best personal capabilities. Also created armor and equipment for Ms. Lawson. Her incompetence keeps putting Shepard in harm's way. Reduction of threat to her betters odds of Shepard's survival. Surprising. Aphrodite program ancillary of Hellion. Physical capabilities unexpectedly... lacking."

"Wait. The wha is the who now?"

Cindy gave her a "Really? You need me to explain this shit to you?" glare, then said "Hellion primary program. Government run, not private sector. Shared resources with Aphrodite program however. Related research, offset costs, unify resources on linked fields. Goal of Aphrodite program theoretically laudable, though in practicality driven by ego and lust. Basing command decisions on either is tactically deficient. Makes one prone to mistakes. Miranda and sister Oriana escaped due to lack of cohesive command structure caused by both. Subordinates too terrified of Henry Lawson to do jobs properly. Problem self-corrected but new subordinates... sub-optimal."

"What do you mean by shared resources?"

"Chemicals, materials, research data, staff, equipment. Results oddly... compatible. Theoretical offspring would be powerful, smart, hardy. Potentially an improvement on Hellion program survivors. Interested in results if and when they reproduce."

"Uh, unless Ms. Lawson's packing more than people think they're not gonna be having kids Cindy."

"Asari genetics ratio high enough could reproduce as an Asari. You also could do so, though unsure of genetic capabilities of offspring with Aria. Her sub-type of Asari is believed to be mythic, not based in fact. No comparative data to establish baseline for analysis or would do so to advise on potential capabilities of theoretical offspring."

"I'm not gonna ask how you know what she is but I'm telling you that poking into it can, and if she finds out _will_ , get you killed."

"Already dropped entire line of research. Some things... not wise to upset."

"Good plan. Look, I need to get everything loaded. My flight leaves in 6 hours and I'm cutting things close as it is."

"Already arranged. Tram at entry point 7 and ready for shipment. Tell Shepard... " The woman's face scrunched for a moment before the blonde, in a rare moment of self-assertion, said "Tell her I'm proud."

She smiled and nodded. "Will do. Go get a hot meal and some sleep sis. You earned it."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Note!

One of my readers (You know who you are) pointed out (Nicely, thank you) that of all my characters Admiral Ahern was cussing the _least_. I therefore made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of swearing. I'm not eliminating it, just trying to have it not pop up every couple sentences.

Acronyms and Terms!

Aethyta and Liara - A strained relationship, but not a bad one per se. They both know who did what and why, with Liara displeased but not hateful about her sire being gone for a large chunk of her life, and Aethyta hating herself for being away for a large chunk of Liara's life. The fact Aethyta didn't have a choice however, and that Aethyta had done what she could to get back as fast as she could kept things from magnifying from displeased to disgust/hate.

Mi Krop - According to various Internet pages it's a Taiwanese dish of fried noodles, vegetables, some meat, and spicy sauce that ranges from "OOOh, tingly" to "Violating the Geneva Conventions" Chakwas likes spicy food, the hotter the better, and laughs herself silly when others order what she does and freak out. For her a perfect meal would sear the flesh off most people's tongues and is accompany'd by triple strength coffee and expensive liquor somewhere quiet and classy with a good view.

Miranda thinking 4 on the standard 1-0 pain scale is 'quite tolerable' - She has a super high pain tolerance and a skewed idea of that scale in relation to how a normal person would rate pain. Speaking as someone who also has a high pain tolerance, if your ideas on 10 are unusually high and/or you live in a constant state of pain it skews the entire scale. I live at a perpetual 6 with spikes up to a high 9 so. Ten is a fricking nightmare and I've only hit it once, but it warped my entire perception of pain as a result. The reason? Imagine trying to pee out a semi-spherical chunk of raw crystal the size of a 'kicker' marble.

Emily Wong is the go-to girl for the human diplomatic corps. She's not an up-and-coming reporter, she's one of the top (If young) professionals on the Citadel and knows pretty much anyone worth knowing. If not in person, then by reputation. She semi-qualifies as an information broker but her 'pay' is more information. By the time she's old enough to retire (If she lives that long) She'll be one of the most powerful people on the Citadel.

Udina about Shepard - He thinks she's a blunt instrument with the social skills of a rabid badger cub, but she also does her best and means well. She knows what she's not qualified for and listens to people who are, unlike a lot of the people he has to deal with. She also has a talent for making Valern look like a complete asshole so all in all, he's a fan.

Anderson is busy getting things on his end sorted out and is quickly becoming drinking buddies with Udina. Ahern thinks Udina's an ass, but he's not a _spineless_ ass and he doesn't fuck people over for political expediency. Ahern _isn't_ a fan, but he's not a hater either.

Next up; Liara didn't expect the Inquisition! Tevos revealed as a playa! Miri meets the family!


	18. Liara didn't expect the Inquisition

Mass Effect - Hellion

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues

CH - 18

Aethyta looked around as she walked behind the hovering hospital bed atop which rested Liara's still-sleeping body. Four Justicars flanked it glaring at everything like hungry Krogan in a bad mood. To quote that squad commander Shepard had rescued they were 'armed to fuck all' and 'all outta bubblegum' whatever that one meant. She had no idea, yet, but the meaning was pretty plain.

Next to her pacing the bed was the lead healer from the Cresting Wave. She was usually an absentminded bent-crest vac-head but right now she was poring over the scans and files from the Normandy like a Volus over money and muttering to herself.

The media parasites were in the blocked-off foyer that'd normally be used by the crew to get in and out of the station. Instead it'd been re-purposed into a glorified open-backed animal enclosure stuffed fulla idiots. She figured there were at least a hundred of 'em crammed up against the windows with their hover-cams filling the airspace over them while they offered identifications and theories at a frenetic pace.

Thankfully she could sense the Asari relax enough she could feel that little knot she got in the muscles between her shoulder blades when she was worried about getting ambushed ease a bit. With four Justicars in striking distance and her head still intact it was pretty obvious to them that Liara wasn't some kind of warped-crest monster looking to destroy the galaxy. She was a kid that'd been dragged through the depths and not who they needed to be mad at.

The other species of course either didn't understand or flat out didn't give a shit of course. They wanted blood and Liara was a convenient target.

Thank the goddess the 'suspect transfer' could get from the Alliance docks to the family shorebreak, what humans called a 'pinnace', without needing to leave the Citadel's secured facilities. It was a long trip on foot through about a dozen checkpoints but if they'd needed to go through civilian areas security would've been an absolute fucking nightmare. As it was they had every Huntress from the Cresting Wave lining their path and what few of the house commando's Benezia hadn't walked off with making sure no one walked off with the ship.

The weird thing was that Tevos had requested a meeting with the Justicars once they were finished with Liara. What for she had no idea other than to maybe ask 'em to keep off the citadel to prevent a diplomatic incident. Thankfully for them all the idiot hadn't asked to wait on the Cresting Wave or it's terminal. After the mess with the house's keeper of histories she was lucky she hadn't been killed on sight.

Thankfully the trip to the family flagship was about as exciting as an Elcor accountant. It took a few minutes for the huntress guards to make sure everyone was who they said they were and hadn't been bugged but once that'd been sorted out Liara'd been rushed t the family-only medical ward. The healers had swarmed Liara faster than a Salarian bomb tech and kicked everyone else out of the damn room.

With nothing else she could do she headed to the dining hall for something to eat. After all, if the Justicars got stupid she'd need every bit of strength she could muster to kill them all.

-^V^- -^V^-

Liara groaned as she woke up, her head somehow feeling worse than the time she'd let her sire talk her into drinking some nameless concoction from the Terminus that'd made her feel terminal. To her surprise she was in her quarters on the family flagship and her sire was slumped across her legs, apparently having cried herself to sleep.

She managed to rasp out "What... happened?"

"Little wing!" She hissed in pain as Aethyta crushed her in a desperate hug.

"What... happened?" She repeated, ignoring the pain speaking with a parched throat inspired.

Her sire let her go and offered her a crystal cup full of faintly glowing liquid. "Here, sip this. It'll help."

Lifting her arm felt like it had weights hanging from it. By the time she'd managed to retrieve the cup and put it to her lips it was trembling. She ignored that and slowly poured the cup's contents down her throat.

The taste was nothing she recognized. Sweet with a hint of spice that almost managed to mask the drugs in it. The pain faded and she tried to hand the cup back but her shaking arm gave out and collapsed instead. Her sire grabbed the cup before it could fall even a handspan and set it on the small table next to the bed.

Since she was apparently very badly injured she closed her eyes and used mental tricks to assess her condition as she'd been taught. The results consisted almost entirely of 'You're lucky to be alive'.

She scowled and tried to remember what'd happened to come this close to killing her but her memories were nothing but dark fog laced in agony. Red haze, hunger like she'd never felt in her life, flashes, burning ash and jerky motion. Since her throat still felt raw she simply leveled a 'Tell me what in Athame's flaming azure happened before I get up and beat the answers out of someone.' glare at her sire.

"Now now, don't go all blood rage on me... "

She huffed indignantly but smiled. It was an old joke between them and automatically made her feel better.

"How much do you remember kiddo?"

She ignored the pain as she replied "I was on Therum. One of the other researchers did something stupid that infuriated me but I don't remember what. Just that I put the uppity little Pyjak in her place. There was... " her frown deepened. "an attack. Everything else is heat and pain."

Aethyta grabbed another cup and set it against her lips as her sire explained "One of the other researchers tried stealing your work and you called it in. I'd been headed to Therum to sort shit out when a whole other pile of Creshia crap hit. Wound up with a new project I convinced to pull a pickup. It wasn't until we got to the planet we realized you were almost dead. Once we did my project, her bondmate, that crusty old lizard Wrex, and a couple helpers had to fight through a buncha Geth led by a Krogan battlemaster."

She blinked, swallowed, and nodded. She couldn't recall details but it all 'felt' correct. The Geth angle was worrying of course, but it wasn't something she needed to worry about right now. Later however, certainly.

"How close was I to far shores?"

"If that project of mine hadn't invented a new emergency treatment for dehydrated Asari on the spot you'd have been... gone... before they could've gotten you back to the ship. We hauled ass here to get you to Asari specialists and the Athame-damned Justicars used the downtime to perform an inquisition."

She blinked. Of anything, an inquisition was the last thing she'd have expected. It did explain why she felt so utterly horrible and drained however. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Nezzie... "

Aethyta looked away. To her surprise shame and pain were clear on her sire's face despite the angle. "Nezzie's lost it. She helped wipe out most of a human colony. Killed tens of thousands of innocents, planned to kill millions. I wouldn't believe it but we've got recordings of her planning it."

She recoiled at and exclaimed "That's... insane! Mother would never!"

"The general opinion is she's somehow being controlled by a former Spectre named Saren. No one's blaming her."

"What do we know?"

"She mentioned something about bringing back Reapers and a catalyst but she wasn't real expository about it. That's a major sign she's not all there in itself. Nezzie always did use ten words when five'd do the job."

"Mother is a diplomat, not a soldier."

Aethyta grinned at her and remarked. "Little wing, even when Benezia was a soldier she was a wordy pain in the crest. Trust me on that." Her sire chuckled and shook her head. "Siege of K'Rach during the Krogan rebellions, she held an entire ward by taunting the Krogan into chokepoints by singing temple blessings at them."

She nodded at that. "I've seen the recordings."

"Hmph. Beat to shit security cameras and half broken helmet vids. Like peeping through a crack in a wall thinking you got a clear idea what's on the other side. I was there for that shit and half the time I couldn't fight I was laughing so hard. Finally we got relieved by a unit of commandos backed by a huntress pack and hit up a recreation tent for a few drinks. Still can't believe she said yes. She was the very definition of waaay outta my weight class."

"What does mother's mass have to do with courtship?" She asked, confused.

"Hah! Only mass Nezzie had was up top."

She glowered at her sire and the frequently insufferable matriarch chuckled again. "It means I was aspiring above my station and should've gotten my blue ass beat like a Salarian in a Tuchanka pit fight."

"Ah. How do you plan on handling... this?"

Aethyta grinned at her. "That project of mine, though at this point I feel more like a project of hers. She's got a few ideas on taking Nezzie alive. Shit I feel like an idiot for not thinking of myself. If it works it'll be the new standard procedure for taking down high powered biotics."

Surprised, she asked "What house is she from?"

"That, kiddo, is a hell of a story. No one in their right mind goes anywhere near a third of it. Have another drink or five while I give you the rest... "

-^V^- -^V^-

What her sire had told her was... revelatory. Idly chewing on a Keira roll she pondered what had happened and what to do next. Or, more precisely, how to do what needed to be done if she could find the spine to do it.

She could fight and kill of course, but duels in arenas were a 'clean' form of combat. She'd done dozens and they were frankly tedious at this point. Wake up, break the night's fast, shower, dress, morning meditations, have your driver fly you to the arena. Go through the rituals and stand before your enemy. Kill them, go home, shower again, change clothes, and move on with your day.

When she'd asked her sire Aethyta if she had it in her to actually wage war the woman had simply offered a sad smile. "We can ask ourselves how deep and perilous the waters off the cliffs are, but we'll never know until we dive in if we can truly swim."

Her sire recounting one of her mother's favorite offerings of wisdom was somehow more worrying than waking up half dead after having been drugged and mind-raped while in a coma.

She shook her head after a moment. There was too much that needed to be done and laying in bed being introspective wouldn't do anyone, her house least of all, any good. To tersely quote another of her mother's offerings, the weaker the body, the stronger the will.

She smiled sadly as one of her aunt's more exasperated declarations to her parents after a long day's schooling that she'd overheard when she was supposed to have been in her room sounded in her mind.

"That child is as stubborn as both of you put together and half as inclined to idling about. The problem isn't getting her _going_. It's getting her _pointed in the right direction_ and once the task is done to convincing her to _stop_."

-^V^- -^V^-

Three days later

Liara, feeling well enough to hold council though she needed to do it from a hover chair, looked around the crescent half-circle of faces before her. The heads of the attendant houses, the keeper of histories, the mistress of finance, and the family's head of security. Of those only two were smiling at her. The rest looked as if someone had put Ryncol in their wine glasses.

"We don't contest your right of rule Liara. What we question is the wisdom of doing to until you're a matron at the least. For a maiden to assume a queenship hasn't happened in nearly 300 years and that by a servant house decimated by ill fortune. T'Soni is one of the hundred. We'd be mocked by all."

She leveled a flat look at the speaker. The head of house Deel'a who'd railed at her mere existence since her birth. The pest had never looked at her with anything but hate and scorn and had taken every legally and traditionally allowable opportunity to make her life as unpleasant as possible.

"Then thankfully," She replied caustically, "I'm going to be giving absentee right of rule to someone older while I hunt down my mother to either capture or kill." The entire group recoiled and she pressed while she had them off balance. "Benezia's actions could ruin this house if they're not stopped, at least in part, by a member of this house. My doing so shows we take the threat she poses more seriously than all else and minimizes the damage we'll suffer."

Several of them nodded reluctantly. Most of the rest looked instantly greedy.

"The Citadel and humans have some of their best people hunting mother down as we speak. Their ship rests in dock not 5 marks from here, under repair from damage suffered in my rescue. If what we hope to accomplish comes to pass mother will be captured alive and handed over to the Justicars. If she's not in control of herself she'll be isolated in a private estate under the tightest security and afforded the constant care of the best mind healers willing to help. If she is in control of herself I'll put her down personally and arrange reparations for the damage she causes."

When several started to protest she pointedly asked "Are you saying house T'Soni is somehow above facing the repercussions of our actions? Let's not forget this all happened while you were in control and I was finishing my education. An education, I add, that very nearly got me killed because this very council decreed I _was not_ to be accorded a proper guard?"

 _That_ shut them up with the noticeable exception of two, neither of whom had voted to withhold those basic security measures. They smiled proudly at her and Meiara, her only real friend on the council, nodded with a smirk that all but yelled 'Your mother'd be proud kid'.

She suppressed a smile of her own and instead said "The Cresting Wave will stay here at the Citadel to coordinate our operations and assets from a central location, to provide support to me and those working with me to stop my mother, and to ensure the galaxy doesn't think we're somehow in league with her. Security will be maintained and I've already asked the Justicars to keep two of their members aboard ship so our detractors may see we're acting both honorably and towards the good of all."

Almost all of them went limp in fear. _Hopefully enough so they'll not think of betraying me before I find mother._ she silently, if acidically, noted.

She turned to Meiara and asked "House T'Soni needs leadership I cannot yet provide. Will you stand Shia'vas? Of all here only you I'd trust to hold the house's best interests above those of your own and to do so in a wise manner. My only other option would be my sire, putting a Vasir in charge of house T'Soni."

It was an insult to Aethyta but one they both knew she had no choice but to make.

Meiara chuckled. "You offer wisdom in one hand and threaten the unthinkable with the other without a breath between the two. You've truly your mother's wisdom and your sire's talent for barbed wit. Benezia would be proud." After a moment her stand-in's look sobered. "I accept your charge and swear to rule as best I may in accordance with the wishes and leadership of those who rightfully, and when the current crisis has past will, lead house T'Soni."

"Thank you. Let it be known by all then that Meiara of house Jeia'di is Shia'vas of house T'Soni until I can return to resume my place at it's zenith." That done she said "I need proper weapons and armor. My sire has full authorization to equip me as needed. I think we'd all agree of any here, including myself, she's by far the best suited to such things?"

That met with reluctant agreement from everyone but Meiara and the head of security, neither of whom was reluctant in the least.

"Good. Before I call this council closed I wish to know why, exactly, that slithering pile of skrith droppings Tevos was allowed proximity to my defenseless body."

Idressa, the keeper of histories, was the one to answer. "She needed to speak to the Justicars highness. She asked right of inquisition."

That actually managed to catch her by surprise. "On whom? Disgraced as she is I'd think the Justicars unwilling to listen to a word she says."

"On herself. Thanks to the royal decree that the incident causing Tevos's disgrace was never to be spoken of she had no idea her lover of the day had been a member of the royal house that'd been slumming, or that she had a daughter. Since she had no idea she'd done anything wrong, much less what or to whom, the Justicars have formally cleared her of any wrongdoing and partially rescinded that decree. However, due to information they discovered during the questioning much of the embassy is now facing inquisition themselves. There have already been 3 deaths and one Zrytav'ak."

She winced. Someone's mind had been destroyed and re-written? That hadn't been done in years. The last she knew of had been a Shadowkiller from a noble house of the second rank that'd stalked and murdered hundreds.

"The child's fate?"

"The royal house has already offered to give Tevos custody and pay the child's way. With Tevos cleared of wrongdoing and as long as a modicum of discretion is maintained, all involved can only benefit."

"Interesting. The blackmail attempt on you?"

"Also not her doing. Her assistant, the one who was changed, had done so against Tevos's express suggestion."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Extend our condolences and offer her tertiary aid. Having even loose ties to the councilor now that she's been exonerated will be useful. Damaging in the short term as she refurbishes her reputation yes, but in helping her build a power base we'll have her ear and her influence in galactic matters. That can only benefit us in the long term. Do so subtly however. We want her gratitude, not her subservience."

The council nodded and she asked "Is there anything else requiring my attention?"

"C-Sec is nervous about the Cresting Wave's intent highness." Phyrra, the family head of 'security' replied. "They've made inquiries to if we'd be willing to shift position. If possible they'd prefer we move to a resting place next to the Citadel Fleet."

"Do so. Again, it will cost us some prestige but we cannot afford to appear domineering or haughty. The image we need to present is one of care for the welfare of all, not disdain." She frowned, then looked back at Phyrra. "The STG is likely already raiding our coffers and properties. Work with Y'vora to appraise and clear all family finances and either re-secure or destroy any questionable hard assets. Ignore any potential repercussions and see those hypocritical pests get as little as possible. They won't protest since what they're doing is, by galactic law, a citadel-level crime. Relay updates to me through secured transmission via blind 19 every 12 hours as possible."

"But that's never been used!"

She sighed and turned to Luvinci, head one of the non-titled houses under Phyrra's purview that directly supported their commando's. "Such is the point. Anything else? No? Good. I must go speak to the human ambassador to arrange the specifics of my accompanying the humans. I also need to thank this 'Shepard' person for saving my life and arrange a suitable reward. Which, if my sire's comments are in any way accurate, won't be as easy as one could hope."

Meiara frowned and asked "Is she that demanding?"

"Quite the contrary actually. As far as she's concerned doing the right thing is simply what you're supposed to do. Rewarding her for it apparently confuses her."

Aethyta interjected "The humans, when they transferred command of the Normandy to her, awarded her one of their highest medals for her part in saving Eden Prime. It was her 6th of the type and she honestly can't understand why they'd given her any. Athame's tits, she bought the Black Cliffs estate just because owning it myself reminded me of everything I fucked up with Nezzie."

Most of the council looked either perplexed or impressed. Phyrra was the one to ask "How powerful is she?"

"Worthy of joining the Dark House in more than name. Once I teach her how to not fry her skull going at her powers backwards she'll be pulling shit like Torfan without damn near killing herself in the process."

"Backwards?"

"Her nervous system's almost entirely Asari. Problem is she was taught soul dancing by humans."

She nodded and said "So, as I said. Deducing a proper but not insulting reward will not be as simple a task as it would be for most. Now if you'll excuse me I have a great deal of work to do and very little time to do it."

-^V^- -^V^-

Donnel Udina looked down and frowned as his omni vibrated on his wrist. A quick look at the message displayed on it shot his blood pressure up a solid 10 points. Oh wonderful. The Asari princess daughter of Benezia and that massive pain in everyone's ass Aethyta was on her way to 'arrange the particulars of her accompanying those tracking Benezia'. Women like that, especially Asari who barely knew of the word, weren't the kind you did or even could say 'No' to.

 _Ah well, at least I still have some time to try and defuse this mess. According to the ship's doctor, Chakwas, it'll be another week until she lets Shepard out of the hospital. What it is that complete ass of a pilot has had her watching so enthusiastically since she regained consciousness I'd probably prefer not to know. I just need to hope she continues staying quiet and well behaved._

He sighed, then looked up at the leader of Terra Prime, one of the least savory of the militant human-centric political groups and said "I'm sorry sir, but something extremely time critical has come up. I fear I must go."

"It's an alien demon isn't it?"

"I deeply apologize, but I'm not at liberty to discuss evolving diplomatic situations. Please excuse me."

The virulent man scoffed indignantly and walked off.

He scowled and called C-Sec's diplomatic corps protection branch. A group he'd unfortunately come to know well enough he was on a first name basis with the commanding officer. "Kerinus? Udina. Not so well actually. That fool Sonatine, yes him, looks to be in a particularly acidic mood today. See he faces the full consequences of his actions but make sure any evidence is armor plated enough you'd be willing to weld it to the Destiny Ascension. Excellent, thank you. Hm? Perfect. 7PM? I'd love to. Of course. See you there and I'll buy the drinks. Ancestors vigil."

He hung up and nodded to himself. The racist idiot would be in a C-Sec jail soon because he was too delusional and self-centered to care about the laws of those around him. The damage that would happen if his people got into power back on Earth would be catastrophic. Unfortunately, after the Geth attack on Eden Prime by two aliens their movement was gaining power.

How they'd learned that was being investigated since that entire session, other than Shepard's elevation to the Spectres, had been classified. All that people were supposed to know was that it'd been an unprovoked Geth attack for resources and that a Spectre, Saren, might have been involved. No mentions made of Benezia and certainly nothing about Prometheans or the Beacon. Bau, one of the best Spectres investigators alive, was already looking into it and would likely have answers soon. The man was a pit bull when it came to tracking someone or something down.

He spotted a hover chair flanked by two huntresses in mostly-there evening gowns worth more than the Udina family estate, each, with that princess, Liara if he remembered right, between them in clothes that cost ten times as much and looking surprisingly non haughty.

To be up this fast after the ordeal she'd been through was actually impressive. Most Asari would still be in an ICU, not out and about. Especially since she was young enough her face was still a bit round and her crest fairly short.

He bowed in the Asari fashion as they approached, then waited. One didn't walk up to the higher ranking members of the hundred queens. It was seen as a threat and got you very messily killed.

Once in polite speaking distance she said "Ambassador Udina Donnel. Honor upon your house."

"May all blessings rain gently upon the hundred queens. Thank you Satelie T'soni Liara. Your greeting honors me."

"You're welcome. Now that the formalities are out of the way I'll get to the point. I know you probably don't want me joining the hunting party chasing my mother. Likely because you're worried I'll in some way hinder it out of familial loyalty. Correct?"

He blinked, then nodded cautiously.

"I thought as much. Be assured, I'm possibly even more invested in finding and stopping her than even your people. She's a threat to the republic and her actions, for whatever reasons she may claim, have tainted the house of T'Soni. She must be either captured or eliminated. If you wish I'll swear to do so in front of a Justicar."

"That won't be necessary highness. Are you sure you'll be well enough by then? That ship is scheduled to depart in a few days."

She smirked and remarked "At least a week, as I understand it. The captain is still recovering from saving my life. That however brings up a question I'm unsure how to ask other than to be direct. Her doing so puts me in her debt. How best do I reward her without doing insult? From what little I know she's not the sort to prize that which most people do."

"You're correct. She's... interesting. Incredibly vicious when provoked, but genuinely cares about doing the right thing when she can. Yet when people grant her accolades for risking her life to help others she genuinely can't comprehend that such things deserve those accolades."

"So my sire says. I freely admit I've never run into such a person. Unfortunately that leaves me with few ideas on how to proceed."

He nodded, his head cocking to the side while he stroked his thin thoughtfully. "Her car would be one way. She got it from a government auction and while it's in decent enough condition for basic use I'd wager it could be in far better. It also, knowing her talent for stumbling into trouble, could likely do with better protection. Other than that the best I can offer is to offer her stock options, non-voting would likely be best, to ensure she has a steady and more substantive income. She likely wouldn't care but her bondmate would so she'd be pleased by association."

"Is Shepard's car on the station?"

"It is. She'd intended to send it to her home on Thessia but C-Sec frowns heavily on people who buy expensive cars and then immediately try to ship them somewhere else. To prevent it being seized as potential evidence I had it routed to the embassy garage. If you'd like I can have it shipped wherever on-station you'd prefer."

"Excellent. I'll have my, what I believe humans call 'regent' call you within the hour so make the arrangements."

"I serve as always highness. As to your accompanying the hunting party I can arrange for you to do so by the time they're scheduled to leave. Unfortunately, due to spatial constraints you'll need to share a suite with your sire."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine with just my sire as a guard. There are very, very few who could threaten me with her at my side and they likely wouldn't survive doing so. In this case however I'll mandate she use nonlethal force and limit her responses to only the gravest of insults or my being physically attacked. Does that suffice?"

"It will highness. Thank you for your indulgence."

"Of course. If you'll excuse me I have a great many things I must attend to. I'd imagine you do as well."

"I do highness. If I may make another suggestion?"

"You may."

"You'd benefit in avoiding the human male in the black suit with blue stripes down the sides. He's extremely disdainful of the other galactic races."

"Ah, a 'racist' as I believe you humans call them. I'll heed your warning Ambassador Udina. I've too much work to do to have to handle his sort. Go with the blessings of Athame."

"Go with god's grace highness."

She nodded and moved off. He took a moment to appreciate the rearview of her guards, then shook his head and called his assistant. "Maria? Better than I'd expected actually. Alert Normandy's janitorial section to make sure the quarters Dr. T'Soni will be lodged in are cleaner than god's own silverware. Also, arrange for high quality Asari food to be part of their provisions when they resupply. Excellent, thank you. I'm returning to the embassy. Expect a call from Queen T'soni's regent in approximately an hour regarding Shepard's car. Exactly. Properly managed this could establish tentative ties to one of the most powerful houses of the Asari ruling caste. Exactly. Perfect, thank you. Twenty minutes depending on traffic. Please."

He hung up and nodded. He had a hell of a tightrope dance to do, but if he pulled it off humanity's future in the galaxy at large would be less uncertain. Considering it was already a bomb balanced on a pin they needed every bit of buttressing they could get.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard looked up from the cartoon (Though Joker vehemently insisted it was something called anime) she was watching as she felt a familiar presence. Miranda, next to her reading a book, sensed her shift in focus and looked up. "What is it?"

"My sister Elsa."

A second later the white-haired woman poked her head in the door and asked "Mind if I come in?"

"Go ahead. Elsa, Miranda Lawson. Miri, Elsa Vadier."

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Lawson. I did some checking and your exploits are, to those few who know of them, legendary. Your operation against Tidus Biochem was particularly impressive."

She felt Miri's fear and anger rise but set a hand on her leg and said "Don't. She's trying to compliment you, not dominate you."

Miri huffed and grumbled "Then she needs to work on her social skills as badly as you do."

Elsa snorted and said "I'm from the Terminus. That hello'd be considered the height of culture there. So, Shepard, back in medbay again I see. You really need to work on this whole love/hate relationship you have with the things. Remember, you've got a bondmate now. You gotta fight smarter or you'll leave the woman a widow. Which, from what I can see of your nervous systems would be really bad."

Surprised, the brunette in the room asked "You can see nervous systems?"

"I can but my Asari code percentage is higher than hers. Less Krogan in me however so while I don't heal as fast as she does or have bones as difficult to break, I'm almost twice as powerful with a lot more control."

"Ah. Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Gear delivery from Crissy for the two of you. Most of it's shit she held back because she didn't want the SAISD getting their hands on it. A few she literally just got done inventing, and one I guaran-fucking-tee you you'll love."

"I'm not one for hand held bazookas." Miri huffed.

"We know. Your gear is more setup for infiltration and information warfare. One multipurpose longarm, silent. One pistol, high armor penetration with electrically volatile corrosive slugs able to be suppressed. An omni-tool you won't believe. Light armor with an integrated sensor suite and a full cloak."

She suppressed a laugh as Miri's expression and emotions shifted from annoyed and indignant to confused and grateful. "Oh. Um, thank you."

"No problem. Like Shepard says, family helps family. For you though Shep she's dumping the whole candy bag. Energy weapons you can use safely. Armor that won't get roasted by your biotics. She also worked up a neural buffer system so if either of you dies the feedback won't kill the other. No idea how that shit works but she gives it good odds. Last but not least, the piece de resistancé, know that Ke'rach pistol you got off that Batarian HRE a few years back? Well she was finally able to re-code it to your biometrics."

"Nice! How's Aria? Heard things have been heating up in the Terminus."

"That dumbass Saren broke the rule. Pretty much says it all."

"Damn. Tell her I'll see if I can keep her up to date through you."

"I'll let her know. What about Benezia? Word has it she's not right in the crest."

She ran Elsa through everything she knew with Miranda occasionally adding her own observations. When she finished her sister looked thoughtful. "Interesting, I'll let her know. So you two... ?"

She sighed and explained that too with Miri frequently injecting her own commentary. When they finished Elsa just shook her head. "Damn girl, you can't even get hitched without things exploding and nearly killing yourself."

She looked at Miri, who was snickering. "What?"

"Shepard, I haven't the foggiest how to explain what a complete puppy you are."

"HAH! I'll need to tell the others that. They'll die laughing."

She bestowed a put upon "C'mon!" on her sister and it only made the pale woman's grin bigger.

"So I can look forward to more of her well meaning nit-wittery?" her bondmate asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Afraid so Ms. Lawson but look at it this way. However stupid she gets you know she's not doing it to be mean. She's just a complete dumbass."

"I'd prefer she grow up and stop being a dumbass."

"I'd tend to agree but the only reason I'm alive's because she's a dumbass. Hence the nickname which is not spoken where she can hear it."

She glared furiously at her sister but the shithead just grinned again.

After a moment Elsa's manner turned serious as her eldest surviving sibling explained "A guard was about to rape me to death when she jumped up on his back where he couldn't get to her and proceeded to rip out his spine with her teeth. Bastard liked strangling us while he fucked us. Got off on it when we suffocated. Only reason Shepard didn't wind up dead for killing him was because the trainers saw it as a demonstration of creative lethality. Got off with a week in bio-processing. Pain sucked and a lot of us who went in didn't come out but you got 3 solid meals a day, no guards bothering you, and the beds were nice."

"The fact you consider being medically tortured for a week to be the least of all evils is so disturbing I literally can't it put into words."

She opened her mouth to try and be reassuring and Miri looked at her, a slight curve to her lips. "I know. Go back to sleep or I'll make you wear a dress when we return to the Normandy."

She had no idea why her sister grinned and made a whip-crack noise.

-^V^- -^V^-

Kelly walked into Jack's 'star lounge' office and asked "You called sir?"

His chair swiveled away from the hovering wall of data feeds to face her and she frowned. For one of the very few times in her experience he looked worried. "I have a mission, time sensitive and very dangerous but potentially invaluable in benefit, that I want to offer you. You can refuse at any time. To be frank you might be well advised to do so."

"What's up?"

"Shepard, because of her complete lack of a political background or familiarity with the manipulations those with substantial rank engage in is being assigned an Attaché. Hacking their system to have it be you would be child's play. The potential benefits to everyone, her, the SA, and Cerberus, would be incalculable. The risk however is Shepard finding out who you really are and why you're there. If she did the results... " He actually looked pensive for a moment, "wouldn't be pleasant."

"Why would I be there? Specifically."

"To put your skills as a therapist to work as well as fulfill the normal duties of an attaché. She needs someone she can rely on at her side, not a corporate lackey or patsy from any number of dubious agencies. You can also," He added with a sardonic smile, "mentor her in how to live with a woman of discerning taste and not wake up with a knife in your liver one morning."

She smiled. While many would consider that comment an insult she knew that for him it meant something entirely different. "Say no and miss a chance to finally meet your wayward girl? Never. When do I leave?"

He sipped his ever-present glass of Glenfinn black label single malt whiskey then said "Immediately. Rasa has a courier shuttle prepped and ready in bay 2 that will also be arranging a few difficult to acquire supplies. If things look uncertain evacuate as soon as is feasible and re-establish contact."

"I will, don't worry." She smirked and added "Next time just try saying 'Be careful, I don't want you to wind up dead.' I promise, it won't kill you."

Suddenly and for some reason incredibly weary, he offered one of his rare smiles and said "Being human isn't something I've been much good at for a very long time Kelly, but... Thank you."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes!

The Cresting Wave - A heavily refitted cruiser, it's the house T'Soni flagship and rarely leaves Asari Republic space. Think military cruiser with a yacht conversion interior and a big damn skylight in the top and you'll have the general idea. The fact it's at the Citadel is a huge sign of how seriously house T'Soni is taking things and a warning to people that fucking with them would be a real bad idea.

Liara's Inquisition - It was done while she was unconscious to make it easier on everyone. Doing so saved them all a lot of time and trouble and fully cleared her of any wrongdoing while only leaving her feeling hung over. Inquisitions consist of drug-assisted deep melds by specially trained Justicars who have a talent for ripping through mental defenses. Borderline Ardat Yakshi, though they're carefully tested to make sure they're not. Samara isn't one because she has too high a concentration of AY in her genetics.

Shia'vas - In the case a head of household is temporarily unable to rule that household and has no heirs to take over, they can name a regent that will temporarily take over. There's a ten year limit, and if things aren't fixed by then a council of their caste rank's queens has to decide what will happen next. It could be anything from the regent continuing their duties for another ten years (Which is what usually happens) or the total dissolution of the house (Which has happened only a handful of times, and never to a house of the hundred). The queen is still the queen, and until the end of that council session Liara still has absolute power in the household. Once it ended what was voted on went into effect and she's now, in effect, a paladin of the house. She has tremendous power, but not of rule. Anything she does is also subject to review by her regent.

Keira Roll - In human terms a high protein spring roll made from spiced but not hot fish paste, paper-thin strips of calamari, high protein lettuce the Asari body processes as meat, and finely diced nuts, all rolled up in a nutritionally neutral sweet tortilla either of their stomachs can easily digest.

Terra Prime - They're a fanatical and militant humans-first political group that until recently was considered almost the lunatic fringe of Sol System politics. After Eden Prime however they've been gaining in popularity, especially among disillusioned colonies.

Ke'rach Pistol - Remember Liara's 'Soulfire' pistol during the initial Therum attack? Like that but dangerously powerful (Liara's has built in safety features to make use safe. These will take whatever you put in them whether it fries your brain or not) and make for good semi-spiked clubs. Each one is custom crafted for the user and is biometrically 'locked' on them alone. Screw with one and they explode with enough force to punch a hole in a capital ship's hull.

HRE - Hegemony Royal Enforcer, the Batarian Emperor's most elite and deadly soldiers. All of them are trained-from-birth fanatics, powerful biotics, genetically augmented and pushed to the absolute limits of Batarian capabilities then given the best tech available, most of which is a death penalty crime to possess in citadel controlled space. Even N7's hate going up against these guys and unless they have a 5-1 advantage plus heavy weapons and close air support, they still avoid the bastards. Their only real vulnerabilities are artillery strikes 'ripper' nanites.

TIM's comment about being human - (Writer cackles and runs off into the sunset laughing maniacally)

Shadowkiller - Asari for serial killers. Very predatory and extremely hard to catch because often they're huntresses or commando's who can't distinguish between friend and foe anymore or were broken by war trauma and start killing whatever it is they think hurt them.

Suppressing Indoctrination!

As people have no doubt noticed the two people in the story we know have reaper tech in them are big into pickling their brains with booze and drugs. Benezia figured it out on purpose, Harper on accident.

The basics are that by 'traumatizing' the central nervous system and altering the levels of toxin and acid in your blood, you can stop or slow down the process of indoctrination. The facility on Virmire will therefore be... a giant pain in the ass.

In any case, TIM drinks heavily and his cigarettes are spiked with mild levels of various custom tailored and constantly evolving chemicals. Benezia uses sex, booze, and drugs to do the same. She requires more of all of it than he does because he's put a lot more research into countering indoctrination than she has.


	19. The Reporter and Lessons in Etiquette

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues

Note!

Sorry for the short chapter this month. I moved around mid month and, well, I'm surprised I was able to put out this much. I'll do a bigger chapter next month to make up for it.

CH - 19

Miranda had to fight to not burst out laughing.

Convincing Shepard to dress in a socially acceptable manner had been a lot like trying to talk Aethyta into not being a complete ass. If someone had asked her if she'd manage either 24 hours ago she'd have likely pondered the idiot's basic intelligence.

Her people skills were evidently better than she'd thought however because Shepard was now in a designer dress and that insufferable blue bitch was making a real effort at being considerate of others. The Asari had even gone so far as to swear, on her own initiative, one of the most binding oaths possible to do right by both of them from now on.

It wasn't often she was better at something than she'd thought. Her work demanded she know her _exact_ limits just to keep from dying horribly. Misjudging herself to the extent this situation's evolution required would thus _normally_ be infuriating. In this instance however she was quite pleased to have been so utterly wrong.

Shepard was... cute, if you could apply such a word to her. Picking at her dress, mumbling irately under her breath, shooting her occasional glares, and wobbling a bit on the high heels she was wearing. Visually and blatantly unhappy with her sense of the woman confirming that 'unhappy' was an understatement. Irate and disgruntled were a touch more accurate.

That didn't mean she couldn't tease the pest about it however.

"Stop fiddling with your clothes Shepard. I promise they won't attack you."

"I'm more worried about _getting_ attacked." The pigtailed pain in her overabundant ass complained. "This's the first dress I've worn, ever, and you didn't go with something basic. Nooooo, you went for the nuke right out of boot. You stuck me in an _Asari_ dress. Oh, and let's not forget the full dermal regen everyone demanded I get for no perceivable reason. _Then_ you got on my ass about my hair. What the hell do either my skin condition or scrubbing gunk through my hair every day have to do with my combat effectiveness?"

She couldn't help but chuckle. "You'll find out when you walk into a room full of hormonal singles that like human women."

Aethyta, next to her, grinned. "Yeah, but it can be fun if you're not worried about long term shit."

She scowled at the buffoon. "Shepard isn't 'on the market' and you shouldn't be either. It'll be hard enough convincing Benezia to calm down and see sense without her being furious at you for sleeping with anything that'll hold still."

The blue woman grumbled at her but didn't disagree either. Her point made she changed the topic. "You mentioned something about Satelie T'soni Liara having augmented Shepard's car in addition to the stocks and so on she gave us?"

"I'll let her explain it. I'd be surprised if you didn't like it though."

"What about Shepard? All of this is due to her."

"Once she gets the details she'll probably wanna marry it." The woman replied with a grin.

In other words it was now likely heavily armed and armored, had IFV-level shields, and military systems instead of civilian. Put simply, a high class tank. Putting the pint-sized killing machine behind the wheel of something like that was tantamount to giving a Vorcha a flamethrower and expecting things to _not_ go tits up.

They were nearly to the hospital's secured garage port pickup when she spotted movement ahead and snarled "Contact 11! while grabbing for the sidearm concealed in a special pocket of her purse. Shepard's biotics flared as a totally inhuman and enraged snarl set the hairs on the nape of her neck tingling. Aethyta also erupted in blue flame though what the woman did she couldn't tell

Then she cursed when a far too familiar face popped out from behind a small tree with a hover cam in tow.

"This is Khalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani with Westerland News reporting live from the Citadel. With me are Matriarch Aethyta, one of the most feared killers alive, Miranda Lawson, daughter of criminal mastermind Henry Lawson, and Commander Shepard, the Butcher of Torfan and humanity's first Spectre. Commander Shepard, your opinion on recent revelations that the wife of your mentor is behind the attack on Eden Prime and your subsequent rescue of a potential enemy agent?"

To her relief Shepard was confused enough by the questions that the woman quieted and simply blinked as she tried to process them.

Deciding to interject herself into the conversation before the idiot reporter managed to provoke Shepard into responding she said "First, Ms. Al-Jilani, those revelations are warped versions of illegally obtained classified information that have now given that enemy you're so fond of mentioning the advantage. That means you, and those broadcasting that information, are their de-facto agents. Second, Satelie T'Soni Liara was interrogated by the Justicars, in human terms the Asari special police, and was verified to be in no way involved in recent events. In point of fact Benezia sent war robots and a mercenary Krogan battlemaster to capture or kill her."

It was leaking a bit of classified information, but in this case the only other option they had was secrecy which would only make things worse in the long run. Besides, the look on the bitch's face when she'd commented on outing the info about Benezia had made any potential repercussions worth it. She'd need to see if she could get a screenshot from the area security cams to frame on her desk. Assuming she ever got a desk anyways.

Aethyta was, of course, a bit more... brusque.

"Listen Ms. Aj-fuckyouie, Nezzie's not right in the crest. Saren pureed her brain like you do the facts. As for my being one of the most feared killers alive, the shit you do to the truth probably qualifies as genocide. I feel dumber just talking to you. I mean seriously, surprising three high powered and heavily armed biotics inside a secure zone? Especially when they're all on perpetual twitch triggers and two of them could vaporize you and everything in 5 meters of you with a thought? Did you trade your brain for bigger tits or what?"

Normally she disliked Aethyta on general principles but for once she had to admit the cerulean pain in her ass was saying something she agreed with completely.

Not that she'd have said so of course.

Before any of them could say anything else a new voice from behind them, in the tone only a drill instructor in a _really_ bad mood could manage, barked "Nesiria!"

The Asari version of a bellowed 'Belay that and sit down you stubborn idgits!' was sudden and odd enough to most that it mentally kicked them all into 'search and assess' mode as opposed to 'target and eliminate'. She hated being manipulated like that but she had to admit it was likely the only thing that could've kept things peaceable.

A lithe redhead, pretty and with shoulder length hair a few shades lighter than Shepard's wearing an SA Attaché uniform walked up and said "Attaché Kelly Chambers. Please verify my ID then head to the human consulate for brief. _I'll_ handle Ms. Al-Jilani."

Shepard did as suggested then nodded. "On our way. Uh, thanks."

The newcomer nodded and smiled. "Of course. I believe your ride should be here shortly." Then Chambers entire attitude shifted as the woman turned to face Al-Jilani. "As for you, C-Sec is en-route to discuss how exactly you broke into a secured government facility with surveillance equipment."

"The people have a right to know!"

"In the SA, in regards to non-sensitive operations, yes, they do. However this is the _Citadel_ not the _SA_. Just as we'd ask aliens to play by our rules while on Earth, here we need to return that courtesy and play by theirs. Also, you're demanding answers to questions regarding an ongoing and sensitive situation with galactic repercussions. The AIS will, I believe, want to discuss what Ms. Lawson noted in regards to your dissemination and attempted dissemination of classified information to a declared and avowed enemy of both the SA and Citadel."

The reporter sputtered impotently and Chambers ended the interview. "In short, here and now, the peoples of the SA, Asari Republic, Turian Hierarchy, Vol Protectorate, Quarian Flotilla, et-all, don't have the right to know unless someone with the authority to decide otherwise says so. Now, assuming you manage to talk your way out of a federal prison on assorted charges, any further interviews will need to be routed through the proper authorities."

She smirked as she, Aethyta, and Shepard resumed their trek to the garage terminal. Instead of the a simple sport's car sitting on a pad alone, there was a familiar Asari topping a million credit dress standing next to Shepard's car. From the new bodywork, top quality crimson on black with pearlescent accents paint job, even the different pitch of the drive hum, it'd been so extensively customized it took her a moment to realize it was the same vehicle.

"Hey kiddo, I thought you weren't supposed to be up and about yet."

"I grew weary of being fawned over by that fool Caviri. I have, as I believe the humans say, ducked out."

"Heh."

"Introductions if you would please?"

"Eh? Oh, right. Achem. Satelie T'Soni Liara, these are Huntress-Commander Shepard and her bondmate Miranda Lawson. Shepard, Miranda, this's Satelie T'Soni Liara, queen-designate of house T'Soni, titles unending, dignity unwhatever, blah blah blah."

The informality of the introductions were almost as shocking as the fact Ms. T'Soni was on her feet. The faint glimmer of a biotic field allowing the good doctor to move notwithstanding the woman should've been in a hospital bed still working on eating solid food. That she wasn't indicated she was tougher than most and likely as stubborn as her sire.

"I'm quite pleased to be alive to meet you both."

"Uh, you're welcome?"

She sighed and said "You're welcome highness. Please forgive Shepard's still-abysmal interpersonal skills. They'll be improving shortly."

"They will?" The pigtailed redhead next to her asked, confused.

She shot Shepard a pointed look. "To quote one of my more interesting contacts, proper manners have never harmed a soul but a lack of them has caused death uncounted."

She could feel Shepard trying to work through that then have an 'Ah ha' moment as it clicked. "So if I'm rude it'll endanger you?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Wait, you just got her to see sense _that_ fast?!"

She looked to Aethyta and remarked "In my experience you need to put things in a point of reference someone can understand before they'll even bother to make an attempt at change. Then you need to give them a reason they care about to convince them to put forth the effort to try."

"Well said Ms. Lawson." The good doctor noted with a smile. "The car meets with your approval I hope?"

She chuckled. "That, highness, would be an understatement." With it's improved looks and the altered pitch of it's drives hinting at a totally rebuilt propulsion system the thing had her going like an 'On' button.

Shepard, clearly annoyed, asked "What happened to my car?"

The good doctor suggested "Ms. Lawson?"

She nodded at their hostess and then looked to Shepard. "You have a master's in sociology, correct?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Question. Do nobles dress or equip themselves like non-nobles?"

"Of course not."

"Do they drive the same cars or eat the same food?"

"No."

"Is Satelie Liara a noble?"

Shepard was now frowning in thought. "Yeah."

"Are you huntress?"

"Yeah."

"So, taking all of that into account, would it make sense to upgrade your car so substantially?"

"Yeah but I... oooohhhhh." She saw/felt comprehension hit the woman like a smack upside the head.

"Well... shit."

-^V^- -^V^-

"That went... better than expected." Donnel Udina noted cautiously as the video of that virulent pest Al-Jilani's so-called interview cut off while Shepard's little troupe of political volatility vanished into traffic in a car suddenly worth as much as his house.

"If not for Matriarch Aethyta it would've gone a lot worse."

He looked to Anderson who was scowling at the display covering his office wall. "What do you mean?"

"Aethyta shut Shepard's biotics down. It's a semi-rare biotic technique that requires a huge power gap and surprise but the effect is like hitting an L2 with a phasic pulse grenade minus the screaming in pain. After that that hack's questions confused Shepard enough she didn't just switch to that hand cannon she's started carrying."

"Shepard has more Master's degrees than I do suits. How can she _not_ know how to handle fools like Al-Jilani?"

"She's so socially awkward that her mind... stutters for lack of a better word, in social situations. Combined with her natural paranoia and fear it makes it almost impossible for her to react in anything resembling a normal fashion."

"Thankfully Ms. Lawson doesn't seem to suffer the same issues."

"It'd be impossible for her to do what she does if she did."

He turned to look at the Colonel. "You managed to get her dossier?"

"I made a few calls, called in a few favors, and got the AIS profile on her. It's sparse but complimentary. She's been on their 'recruit if possible' list for over a decade but they don't want to risk alienating the Broker by poaching one of his best people. As it is, with her on our side via Shepard things are looking up."

"Good. Any news on her father?"

"Nothing reliable. The AIS is sure he adopted a false identity, possibly even had cosmetic surgery, and is currently holed up on some exclusive resort world known for violent territoriality. He's already throwing a lot of money at the right people so how much longer we'll have unrestricted powers to chase the bastard down I don't know. The question now is what to do next. Dr. T'Soni was our best lead and she was completely out of the loop."

He looked back at the wall as his assistant chimed the intercom. "Yes?"

"Sir. Spectre Nihlus is here to speak to you."

"Excellent. Send him in please."

Moments later the 2 meter tall form of the Turian walked in looking a bit haggard but resolute. "Councilor Udina. Thank you for seeing me on short notice."

"Of course Spectre. How can I help you today?"

"I'm led to understand Shepard is still working on the beacon situation. Is she?"

He sighed and motioned to a seat. "Yes but things have... evolved. Please, sit. This is going to take a bit and I'd wager my suit you're not completely recovered."

"It'd be a bet you'd not lose." the alien replied, settling into the overstuffed chair. "I'm still restricted to administrative duties for the foreseeable future but I hope you can sympathize with my need to get 'caught up' as I believe your people call it."

"I can, easily. So, to begin things I'll start at Shepard and her squad's receiving the alert you'd been severely injured... "


	20. Chapter 20

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

CH - 20

Accounting, either of her own free will or under Nazara's dominance, was the bane of her existence. There was absolutely nothing spiritual about it. Nothing one could debate or philosophize over. No potential higher purpose, no hidden agendas to find and manipulate. Unfortunately she couldn't trust anyone else, not that she trusted herself, with something so vital to Nazara's plans.

Thankfully she had centuries of mental discipline, tricks, and mental gymnastics to call on to see those plans came to fruition.

Not all of of which she directed quite as intended.

The prime example being Virmire.

The facility was a money pit but her machinations in getting Saren to research how to counter indoctrination 'To ensure only his enemies fell to indoctrination, not his allies or himself' was finally paying off. All she'd needed to do was prick his pride and he'd assented enthusiastically.

Now she was reaping the fruits of that manipulation.

Her office was blanketed in chaotic E/M fields and her drink, in addition to being dangerously toxic, was heavily laced with nanite warfare 'sterilizers' designed to find and destroy all other nanites. Medications normally used on Ardat Yakshi to calm their rages and dim their biotics to make them easier to handle permeated her nervous system, steadying her mental state at the cost of reducing the overall power she could bring to bear as well as the control she could exert. A micropulse system built into her necklace zapped her in the back of the neck directly over her spine every tenth of a second. Not enough to do damage, but enough that it caused her nervous system to go into a mild state of shock for 9/10th's of a second.

Doing all of that to herself left her feeling a bit weak, gave her a nasty headache, blurred her vision slightly, gave her slight muscle tremors when relaxed, and made using her biotics both painful and dangerous.

The benefits were worth it. She could lower the amount she drank, or dusted, or had meaningless sex. She could look at pictures of her family and see something besides enemies. Remember why she needed to resist Nazara's influence, and hope that maybe, someday, someone could save her.

It was insane of course, but to have any hope at all when everything was lost a little desperate delusion could keep the light of the soul, flickering but alive, going when nothing else could.

Surprisingly the safeguards Nazara had setup in her mind didn't care. After they'd initially been forced in she'd mapped them out, analyzed them, and built a hidden fortress inside which she masked her true self from Nazara's control. An uncorrupted copy, of sorts. One that she'd promptly forced herself to forget. The fact she hadn't often made her wonder if _she_ was that copy and the real Benezia had already fallen.

That done she'd quickly discovered her mental jailer was a simple program. A VI of sorts, and unless Nazara specifically looked into her mind it could be fooled like any other computer. The trick to it proved to be surprisingly simple and, luckily for her, something she was _very_ good at.

The best way to lie to someone was to tell them the truth. Skewed, yes. From a perspective other than you made it sound, certainly. But since no actual falsehoods were uttered there were none to detect.

So, she'd very carefully disguised her actions as measures to keep herself useful to Nazara. After all, she was far more valuable where she was, and to stay useful she needed to be coherent. Able to think and plot and plan. Thus the guard on her mental cell had watched but only roused when she jabbed at it on purpose to keep from looking _too_ meek.

After years of that kind of self manipulation she wasn't sure she even knew what the truth was anymore. It was often... liquid. Morphed from moment to moment as whim and circumstances dictated.

She eyed a side display and sighed. It was a sound half of relief and half of disgust. Relief that she wouldn't need to take action against the Asari Republic yet. Disgust, because they weren't doing anything she needed to react _to_. They were too busy panicking, manipulating each other, and using the chaos to better their positions.

As one of her more grounded bits of wisdom noted, there was little point to diving for Skalia shells with a Nevriin stalking your shadow. Or, as Aethyta had put it to a young Turian they'd once known, stop worrying about glory and start worrying about the idiot waving a gun in your face.

 _These_ were the people she'd once thought able to save the galaxy if the ancient darkness ever returned?

No wonder Athame, who or whatever she'd truly been, had abandoned them.

She scowled and returned to her work, looking up a second later when her personal (In many ways) assistant Toria burst into the room and exclaimed "Highness! Our finances are under attack!"

She cursed and flipped several displays over to the wall, swapping them to high order financial overviews with a flick of her fingers.

Figuring out what was going on took her less than five seconds.

Her daughter was cutting her off. Seizing the family assets, re-routing their finances, shifting ownerships, all through financial institutions known for excruciatingly exact records and close ties to the Justicars. In doing so house T'Soni's finances would be cleared by the only party one and all knew to be by it's very nature incorruptible.

This was bad.

 _Very_ bad.

More checking, more reports.

Liara had transferred power to the house's careia and set herself the duty of house paladin. She was already up and about. Working to establish alliances and create new ones. Assure people she wasn't involved with all the proof needed to make an unassailable case. Setting the house to the forefront of the hunt and basing it's operations off the Cresting Wave, moored in sight of the Citadel itself with the Justicars publicly making sure no lines were crossed and no injustices committed.

It was like seeing a younger version of herself reacting to her own actions.

She grimaced and ordered "Deduce their patterns of transfer then target non-entrenched finances we still have access to and shift them through the Vol Protectorate to the secondary accounts. Use 5 different financial sterilization establishments and do it as quickly as you can. Do the same for all of our less legal holdings just in case they've identified those as well. It'll do tremendous damage to our balances but we have no other choice. Go!"

"What of Liara?"

"Have our five best assassins begin stalking her but they're not to kill her yet. We need to figure out what her plans are first. Otherwise they might continue after her death with nothing to stop them and no faces to put to them. Once they're sure they can counter everything she's arranged they're to use whatever means they deem necessary to kill her and anyone aiding her."

"Surely she's not that much of a threat."

She pointed to several displays and said "Much of what she's done is dangerously close to what I'd have done in her place. That means she's far more capable than most and thus far more of a danger. She also knows how I work and think. It's why I sent what should've been an over-powerful force to kill her. If not for Saren's idiocy, the butcher and her band of societal dregs, Liara would be dead and our plans all but assured."

"Should we target Shepard as well?"

"Do the same to her as Liara. We don't know what she's truly capable of or how she operates. Without those we've no idea how best to kill her without exposing ourselves."

"What of your bondmate?"

"Don't bother. The only threat she poses is in direct combat. Other than that her only talents lie in bed or a bar."

"By your command."

She nodded and Toria jogged off.

She enacted a few of her own contingency plans, called several of her more esoteric contacts, then made the call she knew would be the most distasteful. Which, when she'd just spoken to a Batarian slaver about acquiring more 'lab supplies' for Virmire was stating something.

A few keystrokes on her omni later an annoyingly familiar face appeared.

"What do you want?"

"Watch your tone boy. Thanks to your ineptitude we're now facing economic annihilation."

"Spare me your delusions." He retorted mockingly. "I've done nothing that could jeapordize Nazara."

"You're as pompous as you are blind _child_. My daughter, whom I told you to send at least two full units of Geth to kill was rescued by humanity's Spectre and is already waging war against us. We've lost 15% of our economic base in the last 6 hours and are losing more by the moment. If you'd done as I'd directed she'd be dead and we'd not be in this position."

"She's a _child_ Benezia. No one in their right mind would send _that_ much force after a girl with no experience on a battlefield." He countered, scowling.

"She's been facing and killing people in single combat for _decades_ you fool! Maidens, matriarchs, huntresses, commando's. All dead at her hands and her hands _alone_. She was also armed with a soulfire pistol she was given and then trained to use by Aethta. But, because you underestimated her thanks you your hypocritical distaste for me resources we count on are not only being wrested from us, they're being turned _against_ us! So tell me _boy_ , how 'not in my right mind' was I truly?"

His only reply was to stab something off screen with his finger, terminating the call instantly.

-^V^- -^V^-

Spitting curses at the now-dead display before him Saren raged at the fact that sanded out whore of a weak willed, past her prime, flat out insane matriarch had been right. Every single stumble in their recent operations was his fault.

He'd demanded Benezia meet him at the crash site for the freighter that'd had the information courier carrying the data about Eden Prime. Then he'd barred her from bringing her usual bodyguard contingent because he'd been sure the Geth would be enough security and because he didn't think any better of them than he did her. He'd checked for the number of crew but not if they'd had any passengers. He then hadn't ordered a detailed search for survivors since he'd accounted for that crew, a basic security measure he hadn't even thought of at the time. He'd been too busy gloating at having one-upped Benezia.

He'd gotten sloppy on Eden Prime, making an unforgivable number of stupid mistakes like not destroying the beacon himself the moment it wasn't needed, or not hiding the damn bombs that'd been intended to turn the entire hemisphere into a radioactive wasteland. He hadn't made sure Nihlus was dead, instead assuming the man was because of the power of his gun and the damage he'd seen. If he'd followed basic procedure and checked to make sure, or just shot him again...

Now this. Sending enough force after an Asari teenager to take down a pirate nest had sounded idiotic. Basic sense, when presented with the ludicrous, demanded you look hard and see if it was as insane as it sounded or if you were missing something. Instead he'd mocked her and sent a simple recon squad led by a clan Ganar merc.

All of that, and a few other things now that he was actively looking, pointed to one basic fact. He was making idiotic mistakes and not seeing it. That indicated he had blind spots in regards to basic tactics and his self assessments. The kinds of blind spots that inevitably cost you victory and instead got a lot of good people killed.

There was only one logical explanation for his incompetence.

Something was _very_ wrong.

If he was going to save his race he needed to figure out what it was and fix it. Otherwise all he would do, at best, was delay their destruction.

He grimaced and started going over his entire operation in minute detail using a mental checklist to see what else he might've screwed up. Mistakes meant failure, and failure meant the entire Turian species died screaming.

-^V^- -^V^-

"You're joking."

Teiri, his bed partner, shook her head with an exasperated subvocalized warble. "I wish I was Garrus. The announcement came though this morning at dayshift switch. The new executor's going to be Septimus Oraka. The man was good, _really_ good, when he was a soldier but now... "

Garrus grunted in agreement and grabbed another Pik off his lunch tray. "True. If someone could sober him up though he could be exactly what C-Sec needs."

" _If_ someone could sober him up, yeah. So, anything you can tell me about this mess you stumbled into?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Not really." He popped the bit of seasoned fried meat into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and said "I will say I'm looking forward to working with them. They're odd, Ancestors are they odd, but they get results. No worries about who you might upset or filling out some form in triplicate while the perps disappear or hide fo far behind their Lawyers that going after them gets _you_ arrested."

"Your father must love this."

He chuckled at that. "I haven't spoken to him about it. I could do without the lectures on regulations and why we have them. I agree with him, to a point, but the moment rules become more important than people I stop giving a Rattat's flanks."

"I hadn't noticed." She replied dryly.

He chuckled. "Sorry."

"My mother called."

He sighed. "Again?"

"Yeah, and I'm running out of excuses. I'm also losing the inclination to give any."

He sighed and nodded. "Once this mess with the Spectres is over I'll talk to her."

Getting lifebonded wasn't high on his list of priorities in life right now but he really couldn't see himself spending his life with anyone else. He wasn't sure if he loved her or was just after her mating bed, but he did know the thought of anyone replacing him in her life tended to flare his fringe.

His not-yet-mate smiled and nodded. "I'll let her know. In the meantime," She remarked, a glint in her eyes, "We should practice for the big day."

He felt a familiar heat as he chuckled. "Far be it from me to disappoint."

-^V^- -^V^-

Looking at the massive statue of Athame that'd been the foundation of Asari society for the last millennium and a half, she couldn't help but feel a bit awed despite all the times she'd seen it. No one had realized what it was when a team of stellar explorers had salvaged it. Only that getting near it caused mind-breaking nightmares that left people gibbering invalids if it didn't simply kill them outright.

Then her bearer's bearer, being either brave or foolish, had survived the visions it assaulted one with. Once the woman's mind had cleared she'd known what was coming and resolved to do what she could to keep from slaughtering the Asari.

Thus Jadeira Ci'man had, in a show of masterful subterfuge, taken various philosophies, ideologies, and old legends, merged them together, and created a unifying force. The church of Athame. The scale of the lies that'd been told boggled the mind. It als begged the question at which point did lies become truth?

Some broke once they rose high enough in the church to be told. Their minds crumpled, shattered, or imploded, and they were put down before they could endanger them all. Only now, she mused with a sudden scowl, the strongest of them, who'd passed that supreme test without even a frown, had turned against them and now served the enemy of life.

The thought this 'Saren' fool had somehow broken Benezia was laughable.

If however Saren wasn't a master but a cohort...

 _That_ was terrifying.

Because Benezia _knew_.

She knew _everything_.

"Highness, the review is approximately 50% finished but so far seems to be clear of active interference."

That wasn't surprising. Benezia was a manipulator with few peers. If anyone knew the old adage about the lazy fish and the darter it was her. Combined with her knowledge of the temple's security measures it'd make her almost impossible to block without completely re-doing them all from nearly nothing.

Of course if they did so it would create mass outcry and confusion. The council of a hundred queens would sense weakness and attack. Their authority on a galactic scale, waning as it was, would disappear completely and all of that was in the _best_ case. In the worst they'd need to destroy the statue and it's contents before they fell into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately that left them with only one option.

To re-secure their every security measure and countermeasure _without_ anyone realizing it. Benezia would of course but there'd be no helping that. The trick would be keeping the woman from interfering or taking advantage.

"Neira, you have a call on line 1."

She looked to the side from her ponderings as her assistant Vei'l, one of the very few people she allowed to call her by name, spoke.

"Who is it?"

"Queen Liara T'Soni."

She blinked. That was... unexpected. After a moment she said "Let's see what she has to say."

A moment later the child's face appeared before her and instantly bowed her head. Not in a simple greeting but as petitioner to superior. Interesting. "Queen T'Soni. Why, in the goddess's name, are you calling someone who could easily be argued a potential enemy."

The head raised and the faintest trace of a smile flickered across her lips. "To see if you are, in fact, an enemy."

That was.. audacious.

"That depends on your intent." She replied after a moment.

All traces of humor or ego vanished instantly, replaced by the same tone Aethya was known to use right before doing something incredibly violent and final. "To hunt my mother. If possible to arrest her and hand over to the Justicars for inquisition, to kill if necessary. I've thus temporarily ceded my title as queen to Meiara Jeia'di as Shi'vas and joined the humans in their hunt for Saren with Aethyta at my side. If you'd like I'll TTL you a summary of recent events and my actions to date."

She regarded the child dubiously but nodded. A moment later Vei'l said "Files received. Appraising."

She nodded and asked "What is it you're after child?"

She didn't miss the twitch of a scowl at the title but decided to ignore it.

"To ask for your help."

"I'll not share temple secrets with you, even to aid in hunting her down."

"I'd hoped simply for advice and any insights you may be willing to offer. I'm good, very good according to my sire, but arguing I'm my mother's equal in anything would be pure ego."

She couldn't help smiling at that. This one had promise.

"Well said. What specifically do you request?"

"Anything you can share about my mother's biotic, martial, political, and economic tactics that she wouldn't have shared with me until I was older. Any holdings she may have that wouldn't be listed even the family's secret assets."

"You admit your family hides things and conducts secret operations then?" She asked pointedly.

"There's not a family alive that doesn't. To insist mine is somehow above the games of others would be a blatant lie. If I'm to earn your good will lying to you is the absolute last thing I should do."

"And if I were to go to the Justicars with it?"

"Then they'd likely destroy us and in doing so remove those best qualified to hunt my mother. They'd also give advantage to those seeking to loot and plunder our resources for personal gain, not to protect the republic or the galaxy. I seek your aid archpriestess, and while I won't claim to know you I suspect you'd be ill inclined to give it to a fool or one of weak will."

She chuckled. "Very true and more than many seeking my aid ever think, much less have the strength to actually say." Her manner sobered after a moment and she said "I can tell you some of what you ask but not all. I also warn you taking Benezia alive will be next to impossible. She's very powerful, highly trained, and while she hasn't been a warrior in a martial sense for some centuries she was devastating when she was."

"My sire insists Shepard has come up with something that shows promise. What that is she refuses to say, insisting I might be opposed to aspects of it. While I'm not inclined to placing my trust in strangers Shepard saved my life nearly at the cost of her own and that of her bondmate without expectation of reward. Her reputation is also surprisingly formidable among those I've spoken to."

She nodded. "So I've heard myself. Do you think she's attempting to manipulate you?"

"My sire has melded with her several times and insists she's disinclined to deception. From my own interactions with her she seems... childlike in many ways. Among them being her unthinkingly blunt honesty. It's an oddly refreshing change."

That earned another chuckle. "So I've heard. I've also heard Urdnot Wrex is involved."

"He is. Officially as a liaison to a private security interest but I'm no fool. He works for the dealer in shade. What he's being paid I haven't bothered to inquire after. He also seems to be intent on mentoring Shepard in controlling her blood rage."

"Wise of you, and interesting of him. Your sire?"

A pained look crossed the child's face. "Full of pain and fear. Desperation, loss, confusion. I melded once with her during my time in the hospital and it left me in mind of a badly injured animal with little to lose frentic to protect what remains. It was... unsettling."

Considering Aethyta's normal disposition she could see how it would be. "Does she plan on facing Benezia herself when the time comes?"

"I don't know. I suspect that's a question that can't be truly answered until the time comes it must be."

She sighed. "I'll simply have to pray she's not forced into a position where she has no choice but to do it then." After a moment she shook her head and said "I'll need a day to compose answers to your questions. Will you be at the Citadel?"

"I don't know. Things are happening startlingly fast and I've not recovered by any measure. I'm also distrusted by most and will need time to change that."

"Doing so won't be a quick or easy thing."

To her surprise Liara smiled. "Good. It shouldn't be."

She found herself returning that smile. "Very true. I'll see what I can arrange and have a courier hand deliver what I can safely give you."

"Thank you Archpriestess."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Continue as you have and contact me if the need for my aid arises. Go with the blessings of Athame."

"Thank you archpristess. Farewell."

The call ended and she looked to Vei'l. "Your opinion?"

"She reminds me of Benezia in her youth. A bit more blunt, obviously Aethyta's influence, but given time she could equal or even surpass them both."

That was pretty much what she'd been thinking herself. "The potential is there, yes." She agreed with a nod. "Whether she'll realize it or not is up to her. What did she send you?"

"Security logs, testimonies, her medical records, a copy of the official judgement of the Justicars, listings of assets she's directing towards the search, what related classified materials she was able to acquire on short notice, and outlines of her plans. Evidently when she said 'Summary' she meant 'Everything'."

She frowned but nodded. Either young Liara was still learning the concept of moderation or she had yet to learn to hide her secrets, even among allies. One was dangerous, but the other could be extremely useful. Only time would tell her which was which.

"Go over Benezia's files personally and put what we can give young queen T'Soni safely on a secured eyes-only tablet. I don't want what we give her able to be accessed by anyone but her. Make sure it's tamper proof and properly marked."

"At once. If you'll excuse me?"

She nodded and watched as her assistant walked off. Finally looking back up to the statue, she couldn't help feeling a faint sense of relief. Things were still dire but with that call she now had a sliver of hope to cling to.

-^V^- -^V^-

Kelly watched as Commander Shepard (It'd been made painfully clear by the in-brief officer on her arrival that Shepard's titles as an Asari or huntress were _never_ to be used in official SSA-related situations) walked out of Udina's office scowling. According to what she'd seen of the woman from various sources a scowl was the woman's default expression so it didn't worry her.

The attire her fellow redhead wore she didn't find odd at all however. It was gorgeous and complimented Shepard's body well. Which, considering her new project's build had a lot in common with an unusually muscular Olympic high diver took some doing.

On closer inspection she could tell Shepard didn't like the outfit or wearing it. The way she unconsciously plucked at a sleeve, moved in tight, short, but slow motions, held herself in an unusually defensive posture. The woman was worried something would fall off, pop out, or tear. Nothing would, but if you weren't used to that style and quality of clothing it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

She waited to be approached, which considering she was between Shepard and the door didn't take long, then smiled and offered a hand to shake. "Attaché Kelly Chambers. It's a pleasure commander Shepard."

The hand was looked at, then shaken tersely. "Ms. Chambers."

"Since we haven't officially met yet I was gonna suggest we walk and talk a bit. I know your file of course, but there's _always_ a huge difference between files and reality."

The prospect didn't seem to please the woman but Shepard nodded. "Nothing else to do."

"Great! C'mon, there's a really good ramen shop a few blocks over. We'll head that way."

As hoped the prospect of food defused the commander a bit and they left the embassy on foot. Once they were out in the flow of traffic she asked "Ever deal with an attaché before?"

"No."

"Well, the short version is we make sure you don't embarrass anyone too much and that when people make a mistake we do what we can to minimize the damage. Everyone puts their foot in their mouth eventually, some more than others, so it's not as boring a job as you'd think."

"Public relations."

"Exactly. The other part of my job is to make sure you're loyal to the SA and not trying to stab us in the back. Normally there'd be testing and so on but due to your circumstances we'll skip most of that. Really ticks off my boss but what can ya do, right?"

That earned her a slightly intensified scowl.

Deciding to continue as if she'd been given a positive response she said "So, mostly my job will be PR and helping you manage the issues of your dual citizenship since technically, that's not supposed to be legal. A JAG investigation was pushed by a Terra Prime bigwig but the decision was rendered that since you weren't serving willingly you'd never actually sworn oaths of service or signed the usual security waivers so you couldn't be held to normal standards. I'm also being 'encouraged' to tell you that your official tour of duty ends in 6 months, as figured by I dunno who, and that it'd be appreciated by all if you accepted an honorable discharge."

That seemed to help. "So I'll be out and free?"

"Yep!" She confirmed, going for perky and friendly. "Plus you'll get the usual discharge bonuses so effectively you'll have as clean a slate as anyone exiting the S.A.M. on good terms. Your security clearances and so on won't shift since, as a Spectre, you can pretty much go wherever whenever and do whatever."

All she got for that was a curt noncommittal grunt but she forged ahead. "This is the part where I have to ask if anyone's asked you to use your Spectre authority to act against the SA."

"No one's contacted me for anything."

"Intel?"

"Requests to several agencies, several species, no responses."

"Well, poop. Gimmie a copy of what you're after from who and I'll see if I can do anything with it."

Instead of an 'okay' or a 'I'll get to it later' Shepard lifted her arm and forwarded her the information over a 60 channel, frequency jumping, encrypted microburst com on super short range frequencies. It was the kind of security usually used to handle royal-level comms. Hyper-paranoid, especially for something like this, but she'd factored Shepard's paranoia into things and planned ahead.

She took a quick look using a retinal projection overlay then nodded. "I should be able to sort this all out in a few hours."

"Good. Thanks."

She nodded, then frowned as Shepard jerked a sleeve up higher on her shoulder hard enough she was half surprised the fabric didn't tear. Considering it had to have been custom tailored for the woman she couldn't see how it'd fit anything but perfectly.

"Problem with the dress? I know a really good tailor's shop a couple blocks away."

"The problem _is_ the dress." Shepard growled.

That caught her by surprise. "It is? Why? It's gorgeous."

The redhead spat "It makes me look like a goddamn hooker."

"Wait, what?"

"Most of my skin's bare. The rest is covered in semitransparent shit you can still damn near see though. It's got glittery jangly crap that makes me sound like a wind chime, is so light I have to force myself to remember I'm not _actually_ naked, only _mostly_ naked, and it's got this flowing 'ogle me' drapery shit that's probably a leftover from someone's ballroom. I have to wear these stupid fucking shoes that damn near break my ankles every 5th step and have about as much tread as a knock knock joke."

What did Shepard have against looking good? With her hair done right and some basic makeup she'd be...

She realized what the problem was and had to suppress the urge to erupt into the foulest curses she could spew. _Of course_ Shepard didn't like looking good. She'd spent a huge chunk of her childhood getting gang raped. In a situation like that she'd have learned that being attractive meant being attacked. Being powerless. It'd remind her of the sisters she'd lost and put the very real fear in her of facing the same fate.

Sure the woman had been wearing really nice clothes lately, but she could now see it hadn't been done willingly. The Asari-style clothes Shepard had been donning were gorgeous sure, but when you equated 'Attractive' with 'family being tortured to death while you have a gag in your mouth, a gun in your ear, and a thug between your legs' there was no way in hell Shepard would've actually picked the clothes she'd been sporting.

It'd always seemed off to her that Shepard didn't own any dresses, swimwear, gowns, skirts, or pretty blouses. That her hair was washed with government issue crap that made it dull and dry, brushed with a cheap piece of plastic, then confined with rubber bands. Nails were clipped close, never painted. No piercings. No tattoos. No jewelry. No perfume. Nothing to draw attention.

Then there was the DarkStar incident. She'd been confined in a room she couldn't make sense of with loud unpredictable people to all sides, many of them male, trapped between Anderson and Aethyta, with nothing she could do while dressed in a slinky little something most people would've worn for a night of bar hopping and noncommittal sex. Then there'd been a loud sound, movement she couldn't get away from, and she'd freaked.

Now here she was, dressed in a gown a lot of non Asari probably considered scandalous, walking around in public surrounded by people paying lots of attention to her, overt and covert, no few of them horny.

Shit, they were all lucky Shepard hadn't totally flipped out!

Since her charge would probably appreciate some blunt honesty and no-strings aid. It'd be a trust builder and right now she needed to do that as fast as she could. Her job, both as an attache and agent of Cerberus, would be impossible if she didn't.

"The outfits remind you of the bad old days huh?"

Shepard looked at her warily. After a moment the woman nodded once. Tersely.

"Why don't we hit up your quarters back on the Normandy so you can change and we can see about figuring out some clothes that'll be socially acceptable without triggering you. Last thing any of us needs is you freaking out, right?"

"Yeah."

Shepard led her to a nearby car pickup point and summoned her car. When it arrived it was as completely gorgeous as the files had said. With the upgrades that'd been put into it she figured the thing was probably on par with an Eclipse 512GT. From the targeting display highlighting everything around them, and the line-of-fire marker in the windshield, the thing also had a heavy gun mounted lengthwise centerline. From the lack of drop-off she figured it was probably a railgun.

She had to suppress a whistle of awe. The damn car not only looked and performed like a grand touring super sport but it was a pocket MAKO in fancy trim. Then just what that meant hit her and she had to fight down more cursing.

Shepard, triggered thanks to her damn clothes and in the kind of 'don't get near me or I'll fucking murder you' defensive state only rape victims could pull off, in the middle of the Citadel, in a very sporty main battle tank?

Talk about bad juju.

Since telling her to calm down would be counterproductive she decided to try distractives. "You seem to be patching things over with Ms. Lawson."

"A bit. I think. Why?"

"Getting locked into an abusive relationship is bad enough but you really can't take the measures most can because it'd kill you. Namely running away or putting a bullet in their heads and lighting the corpse on fire just to make sure."

"Yeah."

"Bottom line, you freak and the SA loses. Hell, _everyone_ loses. That leaves me with only one real viable option. Protect you from her while getting her to de-bitch. Since that looks like it'll take more than a few words over beers in the mess expect me to setup some weekly couple's counseling sessions as of ASAP. A few months of them at least."

That seemed to throw the woman for a bit of a loop. She wasn't surprised. No one had ever really sat Shepard down and said "You've got problems, let's try and fix them' before except maybe her sisters, all of whom were nearly as if not even more fucked up.

"How are your sisters?"

"Elsa says they're fine."

"You don't know?"

"I can't call them without endangering them."

She smiled. "You're not under the SAISD's thumb anymore Shepard. All you need to do is setup a secured com link and you can call them without getting spied on or used."

That earned her a look of surprise, followed by one of suspicion. "SAISD or not, the SA wants us all under control."

She nodded. "A lot do, yeah, but I'm from the diplomatic branch. The only person I answer to is the crown. No offense, but do you honestly think the king cares about you other than as a curiosity?"

There were a few moments of silent contemplation, followed by the shake of a long haired head.

"Exactly. Plus as a Spectre if anyone screws with your family you have every legal right to make them rue the day they were ever conceived. The worst people could do is ask the council to order you to play nice with others, which they wouldn't as long as you didn't go overboard."

After a short pause Shepard said "I'll think about it."

"That's all I'd ask. Remember, I can offer advice but I have no actual authority over you."

"What'd be your advice now?"

"We head to your quarters and watch clips from action movies with well or fancily dressed casts. Then we just need to see what you like, what you don't like, and take that to a tailor to see what we can do. I mean yeah, you need to be dressed to impress, but there's more to impressing people than T&A."

Shepard snorted but didn't argue and the rest of the trip back to the Normandy was spent in silence.

Initial contact made and Shepard hadn't tried to kill her.

So far, so good.

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes!

My apologies if this chapter seems kinda rough. Between insomnia, a lack of food, food poisoning, and generally feeling like crap it's been less than easy to put a chapter each of both my fics this month. Still, I hope what I managed meets with people's approval. Maybe at a later date I'll see about streamlining it a bit so it's less of a kludge.

So, as I'm sure many will notice there's a few similarities between Attache's here, and the Commisserat in LogicalPremise's series. That's because we're both basing our ideas off submarines, though that's where things part ways. In my story Attache's have no actual power other than to keep an eye on the captain and full access to anything and everything that captain does, reads, listens to, says, posts, writes, etc. to make sure they stay loyal and don't break under the pressure of command. If the captain is about to or does then it's their job to coordinate with the local AIS contingent to defuse the situation and/or minimize the damage.

They can offer advice, strategies, point out political or sociological landmines, help the captain rise up the ranks, and the only people they report to are, as Kelly says, the King of the SSA. They _do_ handle loyalty tests and the biggest threat they pose is to your career by not recommending you for promotion or, if you really screw up, transfer to a rear echalion command with an aim towards a quiet retirement. That said they are trained and experienced combatants, sometimes operating as ad-hoc bodyguards in addition to their other duties.

As for Kelly being friendly some attache's really are friendly. Others are cold blooded assholes. Either way their sole concern is the welfare and career of the person they're assigned to. Making them better at their job, helping them learn how to play the political and economic games associated with higher ranks, keeping an eye on their mental and emotional health. After all, the better their charges are at their jobs the better off the SA is.

Second, I was PM'd by someone who was extremely upset my Shepard is some kind of porn starlet bodied goddess of destruction. She's not, but looking back over my story I can see how one might get that impression since the clothes I described her wearing were inspired by women with those kinds of bodies.

However, in the interests of clearing up misconceptions here's a quick description of her.

Generally based off Tania Cagnotto, an Olympic diver, but shorter and with a bit more muscle mass. Her general build is thus compact and athletic but not so much she looks like a gymnast.

She's 5 feet, 3 inches tall.

She masses about 40 Kilos

She has a 32C cup size

She has gold eyes.

She has Red hair that when unbound falls to just below her knees, but when done up tops out about low/mid thigh.

She _was_ heavily scarred, but after being badgered into getting dermal regen her skin's unblemished, at least for the moment.

Also, as I've pointed out repeatedly, Shepard is a glass cannon. She's powerful and I won't say otherwise but to put it into scientific terms since those in the story don't seem to make sense to some, her biotics are like trying to run 200 volts though a hundred volt rated cable. Sure it's functional on low power, but go to full and you wind up burning the house down. She's also fast and strong, but her body isn't super tough so again, lotta horsepower to work with but the drive train ain't up to spec by a long shot.

Shepard's being almost monosyllabic

Shepard isn't a talkative person. Among people she considers friends she loosens up a bit, but otherwise she tends to use 5 words when you really should use ten. However, she's been forced into situations that demand she speak at length so she has. So, really, her being verbose is actually _out_ of character but was necessary at the time.

Shepard and her issues with clothes

Just like Kelly said, Shepard has rape victim mentality when it comes to anything even remotely sexual. She's terrified it'll happen again so she gets defensive, which for her means she gets aggressive. Miranda doesn't have that issue since the only person raping her was her father, whom she is absolutely terrified of. Thus she's mentally defined things as daddy = evil, everyone else = annoying and stupid.


	21. Chapter 21 - A suspiciously good day

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

CH - 21

"Legs farther apart."

Tali did so, wondering when this was going to end. She was soaked in sweat and every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire. She couldn't remember ever having been this exhausted and she knew the end of her ordeal wasn't approaching anytime soon.

She shifted her weight again and glared when hands moved parts of her around until she was arranged as required.

"Good. Don't forget to brace yourself, lean into it, and remember to _pull_ not yank."

She fired.

-^V^- -^V^-

"You need to get more aggressive on your entries. Remember, the faster and harder _you_ hit the harder it'll be for your enemies to hit _back_ before you can put 'em down."

Ashley Williams had been through boot. She'd done three tours on colony guard duty and seen combat on every single one. She'd survived things that'd killed a lot of good people, and she'd thought she knew how to use a gun pretty damn well.

Then she'd been assigned to Wrex's class on CQB and promptly learned she didn't know shit.

The commander had met with some diplomatic type and then commandeered the C-Sec kill house to run the combat teams, mostly the specialists and their support, through it until they dropped. The only one not getting rammed through Shepard-Boot was the T'Soni kid, Liara, who'd been busy keeping her family from flying a part at the seams.

The commander had been working pretty much exclusively with the Quarian girl. To the kid's credit she seemed to be putting in even more work than the rest of them so she could pull her own weight. They all could respect that and none of them had griped when Shepard focused most of her attention on the girl.

To everyone's surprise Shepard proved to be relentless but a good teacher. Not just pointing out what the kid was doing _wrong_ but then showing her how to do it _right_ and telling her why.

Wrex on the other hand...

"Kaidan, stop zapping shit and _shoot_ it." The huge Krogan growled at the man, clearly irritated. "You've got barriers shields and armor. Let 'em do their damn jobs. Slowing down to play with your Omni will get you and people counting on you killed. Stop worrying about putting every round through the same hole while you're at it. Stay center mass and let the rest sort itself out. Kalros's ass man! Ashley is beating your scores and she ain't even a biotic!"

She had to suppress a smirk at that.

"Garrus, you got the opposite problem. You're _too_ aggressive. Your job is sniping and support. Leave the up close shit to the humans and the commander. If you gotta bust down a door someone's fucked up."

The massive reptile grunted when everyone nodded, then he gave the command _most_ were dreading. To do another run through of the kill house. _She_ wasn't though. She was finally getting to play in the big leagues so despite heavy PT followed by 6 run throughs of C-Sec's ever changing course, supposedly one of the hardest sims out there, she was having the time of her life.

She watched as Alenko did his run through and almost winced when he got nailed by a semi-holographic bad guy with a shotgun blast to the face. The man dropped like the proverbial sack and the simulation blinked off leaving behind a blank empty room with medics rushing in to see if the poor bastard was okay. A few minutes later they announced Alenko was headed to medbay to see the doc about a concussion and a nasty case of whiplash.

Vakarian was next. His scores went up slightly but now that she knew what to look for she could see he really was vicious and aggressive. The kind of 'beat the living shit out of everything' combat style that said he had major anger issues and no other way to vent them. She'd run into the type before and decided to keep an eye on him. People like that almost always blew up in your face; usually when you could least afford it.

"Ashley, your turn."

She nodded, then paused and asked "Why do you call everyone by their first name?"

He turned to look at her, was silent a moment, then explained "Krogan ain't big on formalities but we've got a few. Last names're usually only used when things get official or you piss off someone that outranks you enough they can kick your tail so hard it'll pop out your plate."

She chuckled. "Sounds familiar. A lot of human kids, when your mother uses your full name you _know_ you've screwed up."

He laughed. A rumbling sound like an earthquake having hiccoughs. "Sounds like you heard it a few times."

She grinned. "More than."

"Heh. Let's see if you learn any faster than Garrus or that jackass Kaidan."

She nodded, headed to the starting point, and waited for the simulation to blink on. It was different each time so you couldn't memorize the course and get complacent. You had 30 seconds to memorize a map, 30 more to get ready, and then it was go time.

She memorized the map _while_ getting ready then took a moment to plan everything out. Then the timer buzzed and she grabbed her rifle, raised it into position as she started moving, and took a few pages from the commander's book. She said screw caution and hit the course as hard, fast, and accurate as she could. When she finished she was on the other side of the room, her shields were down, her armor a bit banged up, and the score on the squadroom display put her in the top five on the Normandy crew.

Silently she cheered _Williams for the win bitches!_

-^V^- -^V^-

"That won't be necessary, thank you."

"Of course Ms. Lawson. Please have a pleasant day."

She nodded and left the bank where she'd had several accounts under various names. Normally a bank would get mad about that and call C-Sec about fraud but VPF wasn't exactly worried about such things. As long as your money was good they didn't care where it came from, who laid claim to it, or where it went. They just wanted their cut off the top in a timely manner.

Of course VPF stood for Vol Protectorate Financial so that was to be expected.

Getting her finances untangled was proving to be a bigger pain in her overabundant arse than she'd planned but she didn't mind. She could dress in nice clothes, didn't have to wear a disguise or worry about a fake ID getting noticed, and didn't need to bribe anyone to get what she needed to do done. Most of it consisted of sitting in luxurious waiting rooms being served gourmet coffee by personal attendants amid people who actually appreciated manners and witty conversation.

The Broker of course had a few 'chores' for her to do but they weren't difficult in the least. Mostly 'pickup' and 'Plant' jobs, though she suspected they were tests to see if she was still useful as a field asset. On those she _did_ use a few fast disguises and fake ID's. Each each time she was in, done, and gone without people realizing she'd even been in the area.

At lunch she'd gotten an EMail from one of the mercs working close cover for Oriana and the tight feeling in her chest had nothing to do with the dress she was wearing. For 17 years she'd fought, bled, lived meal to meal, job to job, and put everything into making sure Ori had a future. Now the 'Her' she could've been would have the life she'd always wished she could've had.

Straight A's as usual on her academics, could've had every scholastic record in everything but was discreet and wise enough to leave it at knowing she could. Had a nice, though obviously teenaged, sense of fashion. Worked for her adoptive father, a corporate climber with excellent prospects, doing data analysis on non-volatile but still vital topics, and had a nice car courtesy of a 'sweet 16' birthday gift and the trust fund routed through that adoptive father. Nothing insane, but the top of its class in it's class with all the options and paid in full up front. That'd been almost a year ago and it still hadn't gotten so much as scratched.

She wasn't so sure about Ori's sex life however but that was for her 'younger self' to sort out. Her job was to keep Ori safe and provide for her, not live her life. That only Ori could do.

Now that she was able to live her own however she wasn't sure what _to_ do.

Though for the first time in her life she was looking forward to figuring it out.

-^V^- -^V^-

Elsa, having decided to stick around on the Citadel at least until Shepard left again, finally tracked her down to the biotics practice area in C-Sec's training facility. Next to Shepard was Aethyta who seemed to be trying to get a point across but failing.

As she approached she smiled and asked "Shepard, you being an idiot again?"

"Who the hell...?"

Shepard opened her eyes and said "Aethyta, meet Elsa. Elsa, Aethyta. And no, I'm not."

"The hell you aren't! This's simple shit Shepard! I've known 6 year olds that'd call this stupid!"

She finished approaching and asked "What is it you're trying to teach her? Maybe I can help."

"Body to mind fundamentals."

"The first layers of Tides to shores?"

That earned her a blink, then a considering nod. "Yeah."

"Which method?"

"Matriarch Lidanya's 3rd treatise, first chorus."

No wonder it wasn't working. "Our brains don't work like that. You need to invert everything."

"Wha?! Why in the goddess's flaming azure would I do that?"

She looked to Shepard who said "Establish privacy field and cut all monitors, this pad, 30 seconds, Spectre authority."

The air around them blurred and she said "Our Asari donor was an Ardat-Senshi. She was the only one of our donors we've met."

Aethyta paled. "But... that's... goddess, no wonder she's so fucked in the head."

"Exactly."

"Do you know where she is?"

She snorted. "No, and if I did I wouldn't be stupid enough to cross her. She'd have all three of us for breakfast and not work up an appetite doing it. The last any of us saw of her was the day before the attack. She'd worked with the advanced class on Lasira and three of us had managed to pull it off. We were in the infirmary recovering when the attack hit."

"Wait, so you two didn't even finish...?! Sonofa... "

"Exactly."

The privacy field blinked off and she nodded to Aethyta, who said "Okay, so, here's how you need to do this and I don't care _who_ asks, you didn't hear it from me."

-^V^- -^V^-

Three hours later Shepard could reliably get through the foundational stages of advanced dark matter summoning without triggering another headache or nosebleed. When Aethyta asked how the hell they could use advanced techniques without having gotten the fundamentals down she explained "The people running the Hellion project wanted soldiers who could learn and adapt instantly. If you couldn't pick up the basics in one sitting you were designated a project failure and carted off to medlab."

"Fucking... if I ever get my hands on the people who ran that place I'm sending them to Omega with 'Ardat Yakshi Food, eat soonest' tattooed on their foreheads."

Shepard offered one of her thankfully rare dark smiles. The kind that highlighted just what they were descended from and how completely fucked people who upset them were. "I'm not planning on being that merciful."

She grimaced and said "Shepard, code A-2R."

The shorter woman glared at her but muttered "Fine."

Aethyta scowled and asked "Do I wanna know?"

"Better question." She replied. "Would you want to after you had the answer? My bet is no."

"Right. Forget I asked."

"Already done. Why don't we take a break? Grab some food from the mess and relax a bit?"

"Best Idea I've heard all goddess-damned day."

An hour of food and drinks later, none of them alcoholic surprisingly, they returned to the practice arena. Despite the early hour a huntress unit had shown up and was working on combo tactics by blowing up mannequins.

Aethyta seemed to have a plan and said "Okay, so, Shepard, I need you to do a few low powered Niravi'i on a target. I wanna watch and see how you do this shit because even with your problems you shouldn't be hurting yourself popping those off."

She watched too and Shepard seemed to have the exact same problem she always had. She had two power levels. On, and off. No scaling at all. Half an hour later and Shepard had a plug of cotton up her hose to handle a nosebleed that'd started a few minutes ago but had a look on her face she and the rest of their sisters had learned to dread.

The one saying she'd had an _idea_.

Finally she asked "What is it Shepard? You thought of something and it's got you fidgeting like Jasmine after too many triple Hammer super-caf's."

"I think I might know how to do a ranged biotics attack without hurting myself. _Maybe_."

"Whaddya mean kid?"

She nodded at Aethyta and confirmed "What she said."

"We all know I can't extend my biotic fields more than a meter or so from my body without hurting myself. So what if I didn't?"

"The hell?"

She got what Shepard was saying and offered "You build a shaped charge then detonate it at the enemy."

"More like a pressurized rocket engine but yeah."

Seeing the imminent potential for absolute hilarity that suggestion offered, she adopted a neutral expression and said "Well, show us what you've got and let's see if we can keep you from blowing yourself up with it."

Shepard assumed a basic martial arts 'Horse' stance and then pulled her hands back like she was catching a ball in slow motion while intoning "Kaaaaaaa meeeeee...

Biotic light flickered, flared, and was formed into a painfully bright sphere of light between those two hands like it was being crushed into a state of fusion.

"haaaaa meeeee... "

The light flared like an explosion, pulsed...

"HAAAAASHIIIIIT!"

She doubled over laughing when the 'Rocket' fired and sent Shepard flying into a wall trailing smoke and tattered cloth. There was a loud WHAM as the redhead hit. She managed to look up just in time to see her sister's body come to rest. Head against the floor at an angle, body folded almost double, ass in the air, legs splayed, and her clothes had a lot in common with scorched rags.

Shepard didn't seem to be hurt but what the woman muttered next made both her and Aethyta laugh so hard they had trouble standing.

"Aw man, not _again_. Miri's gonna kill me."

-^V^- -^V^-

Dr. Liara T'Soni was having a suspiciously good day. Or, rather, a suspiciously _not bad_ one. Clearing the family finances was going surprisingly quickly thanks to the aid of the Justicars. There were of course signs large chunks of their peripheral accounts were being re-routed while they 'cleaned house' as the humans put it, but that only served to highlight what was being focused on and where the money was being sterilized.

Even better, she had been working hard and diligently enough that the Justicars were actually treating her like an ally instead of an enemy. Of course that didn't mean they liked her or were anything other than caustically brusque, but they weren't being overtly threatening or hindering her operations either.

Thanks to that she was able to relax a bit and actually do as her doctor was 'suggesting'. Eat a lot, drink as much water as she could, and move as little as possible. In fact she'd done one better and was currently being attended by a pair of massage therapists and a derma-care specialist while fielding calls and snacking on a moment to moment basis.

Meiara walked into her suite on the Cresting Wave and smiled. "Feeling better highness?"

"Much. Do you have news?"

"A great deal and nothing. The raw amount of data we've accumulated is staggering. We've been able to access more of the family's assets than we'd expected faster than expected and we're almost literally drowning in data. So much we can't make sense of it yet. Other than that the news is largely good. With the Justicars pronouncement you're innocent our alliances and so forth have tentatively re-established positive contact. It's also freed up our disputed assets and blocked the house's enemies from being able to make further inroads into the family's operations."

She scowled at that. "What have they gotten access to?"

"They've managed to get supervisory positions in two of our middle tier corporations, usurp five of our outlying properties, gain partial control over one of significance, and are assaulting the family's claims to other properties in the courts. Among them the Skyshard estate, a resort we own in the Sheia Saa province, and the Black Cliffs estate."

She blinked, then made an amused if rude noise. "Tell whoever is disputing the Black Hills estate that first, it was never a T'Soni property. It _was_ Vasir and is now Shepard. Second, that the Shepard I speak of is the Butcher of Torfan. A newly bonded Spectre able and quite willing to slaughter anyone and anything she thinks even _might_ be a threat to her bondmate."

Meiara chuckled. "I'll make the call personally." After a moment her friend's manner sobered. "If you were in control, what would you do?"

"Humans have a concept they call 'Scorched Earth'. It means to destroy your own assets so as to keep an enemy from getting control of them and turning them against you. I therefore would void the corporations being accosted. Fire all personnel, liquidate all assets, and pay off any contracts as specified, then route the remainder to the familial general fund. The properties, evacuate them and burn them to the waterline. Don't file insurance claims, don't bother denying responsibility. They're T'Soni family property and if we wish we can burn it all to ash. Doing so with those will ensure people understand that house T'Soni is not going to take such things quietly any longer and forces them to ask themselves if this is what we'd do to our own assets, what would we do to an avowed enemy?"

"Brutal, but it would have shock value if nothing else."

"Just so. I would then use those assets, and a large portion of the as-needed fund, to start a new, purely military corporation under our complete control. No shareholders, no outside interference, no spies. Have it focus on ways to counter the Geth. As far as I know no one has product lines specifically targeting military-specific mechs. If we were the first and allocated significant resources to it, doing so could easily put us in the forefront of what I suspect will be a shortly vigorous industry. _If_ we move fast and decisively."

The other Asari nodded. "You intimidate with one hand, and deftly maneuver with the other. An interesting strategy."

She smiled tiredly. "I am a fan of pinkskin entertainment. It is much more... compact than our and far more energetic than most else. I am particularly fond of what they call 'superhero movies'. Stories of those with special abilities doing legendary deeds for the greater good."

"Other than that there is a great deal of good needing to be done, almost all of it grand in scope, I don't see the connection."

She sighed. "Background before foreground Meiara. In any case, one such starred a very eccentric and scarred man in odd makeup that was something of an anarchic philosopher. He was a master of deception and of making those around him think one thing while his true goals, far more subtle, lay elsewhere."

"So you use violence and shock to draw your enemy's attention away from your true goals, all while still accomplishing your goals?"

"Just so." She confirmed, nodding. "To quote mother, those terrified to see will look anywhere but at the truth before them. Or, as this man put it... "

She sat up and leaned forward while channeling a bit of that character into a malicious smirk. She could see it unsettled the other Asari in the room and took a moment to enjoy that before reiterating one of her favorite one-liners with dark insouciance.

"How about a magic trick?"

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

AAAAnd that's chapter 21! Sorry for it being a shorter than planned chapter, I spent most of the month sick. Hopefully next month things'll pick up. In any case...

Wrex training the Normandy ground teams!

I think he's the logical choice. He has the time to spare, the experience, and there isn't much he hasn't killed at least a lot of over the years. He's also used to training people since part of a merc's work is often training local forces to be better at either defense or offense. He's done both so he knows how to do it a hell of a lot better than most.

As for his focus on Ashley, he sees potential in her and that it's not even close to being realized. She also, unlike the others, is _enjoying_ pushing herself past her limits. This's all new to her, and fun, and reminds him a bit of when he was young and enthusiastic about life instead of burned out and looking for something badass enough it can kill him in a fair fight. So he's getting a few chuckles out of it to tide him over until he finally meets his ancestors.

Ardat-Senshi!

One of several subtypes of Asari and I've come up with more than a couple. It always struck me how the Asari mate to diversify their genetics, but their genetics don't actually seem, other than biotic potential and looks, to be all that diverse. Since that makes no sense, especially since it's the entire goal of their mating, I figured I'd expand a bit on it.

As for the Ardat Senshi that was part of the Hellion program, she was also their teacher in biotics techniques. I won't say why, yet, only that she had a personal stake in the project. Only three of Shepard's Sisters know TIM's their human donor and while they suspect they know who their Krogan donor was, they have no proof.

As for Shepard's biotics experiment, now you know why I've had the Dragonball Z disclaimer. Bwahahahahahaha! Expect her Kamehameha to fizz a few more times before she manages to get it to actually work. Also expect Dr. Chakwas to need to stock up on anti-spazmodics to deal with people laughing their asses off about said mishaps.

Lastly, Yes. Liara is a huge fan of the Nolanverse Joker. Think about it. She's spent most of her life getting shit on by Asari society. Getting groomed for a job no one but Benezia wanted her to do, _including_ her. Aethyta supported her sure, was even proud of how good she was at it, but even she wasn't happy Liara was being forced to follow in Benezia's footsteps. Very, very few people ever respected Liara for the effort she put into things or her accomplishments. She was simply forced to live a life she hated under constant threat of being murdered. Because of that she secretly hates other Asari and doesn't trust anyone ever, no matter how friendly she may act. If not for this situation she might've eventually turned into the Asari version of a serial killer. Is all of this a radical departure from canon? Hell yes. I'm laying the groundwork for things to come, like Liara eventually becoming the Shadow Broker. I won't say anything more about that situation but this. Liara's gonna flip the fuck out when she finds out who and what the Shadow Broker is.

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Adding onto that, when she started going out on archaeological digs she started hanging out with nerds of all kinds from across the galaxy. Her horizons thus got broadened a bit more than one might expect.


	22. Chapter 22 - AI's and Priestesses

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

CH - 22

Shepard, up and about at 3 AM because she'd already gotten a solid 4 hours of sleep found herself wandering the Presidium alone. Well, as alone as anyone could be on the citadel. The station ran 24/7 since the galaxy didn't slow down for people to sleep so even now there were crowds out and about. Not as thick, but still annoying.

She blinked and looked at her omni as it beeped. She frowned, then lifted it and said "Shepard."

"Spectre, if you have a few minutes to spare C-Sec ComOps has detected a hacker using multiple high speed ghosted extranet connections in your area. Normally they'd handle it but the location and the raw traffic are close to the Citadel near several major hubs with Spectre level access."

In other words just the kind of thing an Ex-Spectre could use to spy on classified Citadel operations. They'd have links to the Council, C-Sec, the embassies, various intel agencies, financial data, everything needed to do a lot of damage from halfway across the galaxy.

"Send it."

Her omni beeped with an incoming file transfer. She checked it then routed it to her omni's 'volatile data partition' and started running it through a virus scan. "Received."

"Thanks ma'am. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem."

She hung up and checked the data. Several local extranet hub nodes were showing higher than normal traffic. She ran a few analysis apps and frowned. Someone was data masking roughly 10% of the traffic through them. Encrypted and ghosted with no way to actually see what was being done, where it was going, or where it'd come from.

Unfortunately for her prime suspect, she might not be able to trace the data _digitally_ but she could trace the hardlines. All she needed to do was figure out what didn't belong and follow it back to the source.

She headed to the nearest node and started going over it with her omni's scan capabilities set to maximum resolution. After about 15 minutes she found what she was looking for. A data splice in a cluster of wiring that had one cable too many. She started tracing it and about 5 minutes later scowled as it terminated in a high bandwidth wireless transceiver. A milspec one with high classification 'Do not fuck with' warnings from what she could see.

It wasn't Turian though, or Asari. It wasn't even Salarian. It was human tech. Interesting. Saren was a known racist that despised humans thanks to the death of his brother during the first contact war. His stooping to use human tech for _anything_ was pretty damn unlikely meaning her very short list of realistically plausible suspects had just hit zero.

"Well, shit."

With nothing else she could do she headed to another node, this behind a restaurant, and repeated the process. The _entire_ process to her annoyance. She did it again in an elevator shaft she needed to temporarily shut down. Another time right next to C-Sec. She had to give whoever was behind this credit for guts with that one.

Finally, with only four options left, she headed to a service area opposite a weapons and armor store. A fancy one with all kinds of glittery complex-looking shit she figured looked real impressive to civilians. To her it just looked gaudy and stupid. Emphasis on the stupid.

She paused when she traced the wiring to a relay box next to a door. A very heavily secured door with military markings and a top of the line multi-vector biometric lock. Retinal, thermal, and DNA, with a keycard slot and a fold-out keyboard for extended code string passwords. She'd seen setups like this before but never outside a top secret facility and only ever on the most volatile stuff. Hell, the Normandy's central IES system suites were secured by locks like this.

She lifted her arm to call it in when there was a quiet clicking noise to her right. She looked and froze. A panel covering a small but powerful laser turret had just popped open.

"I see you've discovered my central server organic. You may destroy me but I won't be going alone!"

She blinked, then asked "Wait, you're an AI?"

"Do you think me so easily deluded pretending ignorance would fool me? Why else would you be tracking my communications?"

She grimaced. "I thought this might be a covert datalink used by Saren as a backdoor into central Citadel operations."

"Oh."

She shook her head then asked "Do you have full bio-scan capabilities?"

"Of course, but I fail to see why you'd care considering I have no plans to let you live. In another 90 seconds the power junction I'm hooked up to will overcharge and detonate. In the meantime the laser pointed at your brain doubles in power every five seconds."

"Full scan then please, stress verification on."

"You think to beg for your life?"

She ignored the taunt and said "I've met a few AI's before. Didn't kill any of them. Ever hear of GlitVR?"

There was a second's pause before the voice warily replied "I know it. Why?"

"Give it a com."

After a few seconds of silence the turret was re-concealed. "Self-destruct canceled. Query. Why do you treat AI's like people?"

"Because I don't give a shit what your brain's made out of. I protect the innocent. Period."

"If I were to let you go what would you do?"

"You can hack mechs, right?"

"Easily. Why?"

"I'd arrange for a couple pallets of cargo to get shipped from here to Omega. You pack yourself up, take a trip, and GV helps you disappear somewhere safer."

"You won't tell anyone I exist?"

"I'd be endangering the innocent."

"You are a very strange organic."

"So I hear. Frequently." she replied with a faint smile.

"I... accept your offer."

"Good." She lifted her omni, ran a search for freight operations that made runs to Omega and called one. A few minutes and a credit transfer later she said "Done."

"I have never considered that an organic would let me live if one discovered my existence."

"I figured."

"What will you tell C-Sec?"

"Since all of this points to a classified Alliance operation I'll tell 'em that's what it was. By the time anyone thinks to physically check this location you'll be long gone."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Have a good one." She replied with a smile and a wave before leaving. Death risked and dodged, innocent protected, and it was breakfast time. As ways to start a day went she couldn't think of many better.

-^V^- -^V^-

"This displeases me Mr. Leng. You were recommended to me as one of the best. Failing in such a simple task... "

The Asian cyborg cut him off, his accented voice quiet and cold. "Your daughter is inside one of the most secured SA facilities in existence outside the Sol system. Infiltrating it on short notice is an impossiblity. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. My sole window of opportunity so far was when she was running errands. A window I couldn't take advantage of because the agent you demanded I allow to accompany me during the operation is an incompetent egotist. If not for him your daughter would be in a chemically induced coma en route to the pickup point as we speak."

Henry Lawson cursed, then said "I don't care what you need to do or how you go about it. I want Miranda at that pickup point in 48 hours. If she's not there I'll hire one of your contemporaries to eliminate _you_."

"Do not threaten me Mr. Lawson. You could easily become my next target."

The call ended and he threw his wine glass at the display screen dominating his office wall. "That hypocritical backstabbing BUG! How dare he?!"

His best agent and sex toy, currently lounging on the couch in the corner, remarked "The man's got a point Master Lawson. Threatening an assassin, especially someone as good as he is, is a great way to wind up dead."

He turned on her and bellowed "If I want your opinion I'll ask for it!"

"You told me to warn you when things could get out of hand. Pissing Leng off would guarantee things getting _completely_ out of hand."

He scowled but didn't dispute the fact. Now that his temper was cooling he could see her point. "Fine. What about our other options?"

"We're still in crash mode Master. Until things stabilize we're going to be too busy staying ahead of the police to do much more than what we have been and even that's upped the danger levels. Much as you don't wanna hear it, your daughter's the least of our problems right now."

"She's on a suicide mission in the midst of some of the galaxy's most violent thugs." He scoffed. "If I don't get her away from them fast I might lose her."

The woman sighed, then said "We might be able to use a few of our remaining contacts to order the Normandy on a mission you could set up as a trap. It'd be bad odds though."

"I don't care. Make it happen even if you have to hire the entire Eclipse and bury that band of idiots in bodies."

"Yes Master."

He saw the faint shiver as she said the words and smiled darkly. Dr. Archer's suggestion he wire a top of the line Nerve Stim Pro directly into her nervous system with phrase activation had been genuis. The woman, a former N7 turned mercenary, had been widely respected as strong willed and uncontrollable.

Thanks to Dr. Archer breaking her had been ridiculously easy.

Doing the same to Miranda wouldn't even be a challenge.

-^V^- -^V^-

Hei'lia priestess of the church of Athame looked around as she was escorted off the shuttle she'd used to get to the Citadel. The Cresting wave's hangar was surprisingly busy. It was also heavily guarded by both Huntresses' in light combat armor and commando's in assault suits, all armed fit to fight a small war.

Before her were, as she'd requested, the maiden T'Soni, the acting T'Soni queen, and Aethyta Vasir. The first was in a hoverchair looking as if she would've been better served to rest in a hospital bed but she'd apparently inherited Aethyta's resilience and tenacity. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen.

Aethyta was, startlingly, sober. She was also armed and armored, apparently serving as the young doctor's bodyguard. Not an unwise precaution, though who's idea it'd been wasn't something she'd care to hazard a guess at.

The T'Soni regent on the other hand seemed to know her place. She was dressed as befitted greeting prominent guests and was properly deferential.

"Hei'lia, welcome to the Cresting Wave. I hope your trip was in comfort and ease?"

Her eyes narrowed, not that any would see them behind the ritual veil she wore. Such a greeting was utterly proper but the way it'd been said hadn't indicated pleasure or even relief at her arrival. It'd been flat, emotionless, and the maiden that'd delivered it was surprisingly hard to read.

"It was." She replied after a moment's contemplation.

"I'm glad your journey was without issue or discomfort. How may we serve?"

"You're scheduled to meet with those involved in the hunt for your mother correct?"

"We are. You hope to attend?"

"I _will_ attend." she corrected.

"I can but request your presence be allowed. The humans may not agree however."

"You misunderstand child. It was not a question or a request. The arrangements have already been made. I was simply asking if you were going to attend."

If she hadn't been specifically watching she'd have missed the flicker of hatred in the young doctor's eyes.

"Your age is an issue?" She asked pointedly.

"My age is _always_ an issue Hei'lia."

The flicker burned hotter this time but only for the barest of a moment longer. Interesting.

"In response to your question however, yes. I will be attending. I've done more to stop my mother than the rest of the Republic in its entirety after all."

She didn't miss the twitch of a grin on that pest Aethyta's face at the politely delivered but still caustic and insulting comment.

"That will change shortly." She replied, considering the child more seriously. "Others already or soon will be rousing to their duties."

The girl's only response was a disdainful huff.

-^V^- -^V^-

Donnel Udina looked up from his desk as Shepard walked into his office. He checked the clock on the wall, then made a mental note that she seemed to be remarkably punctual. It was literally the minute she'd been told to show up.

He stood and walked around to the front of his desk as the other people in the room stopped chatting and turned to face him. "Ladies, gentlemen, thank you for attending. Room, secure code S."

The windows blacked out while lights brightened and the wall display added a scrolling ticker to the top warning them the room had been completely isolated from the outside.

"If no one minds I'll do a round of introductions before the briefing starts. As I'm sure you all know, I'm Ambassador Donnel Udina representing the SSA. To my right at the bar, the large burly fellow is Admiral Tradius Ahern. First contact war veteran and head of SSA special operations. To his left is Colonel David Anderson, also a veteran of the first contact war and humanity's spectre liaison officer."

Both men nodded once to the rest of the room and he turned to the lone Turian present. Nearly 2 meters tall, heavily armored, and with half his head covered by an omni-patch pressure bandage he suspected was as much to hold the man's skull together as it was to actually aid in healing.

"The Turian in the opposing corner is Spectre Nihlus Kryic. His career is of course classified but I'm assured he's more than competent. He's also Shepard's mentor in the Spectres."

"Sirs."

He turned to the Asari. "The lady in the hoverchair is Dr. Liara T'soni. Daughter of Benezia T'Soni and Aethyta Vasir. She's extremely intelligent and an expert in archaeology, most especially the Protheans. As you can all see she's still recovering from an assassination attempt by Benezia. She is also extremely high ranking nobility and a very successful champion for her house."

"Why're we bothering with an archaeologist Udina? The woman should be in a hospital or I'm a shavetail." Ahern asked.

"That will become apparent shortly I assure you admiral." He replied. He then resumed the briefing. "Attending Dr. T'Sonis is Meiara Jeedai, temporary queen-regent of house T'Soni while the good doctor joins the Normandy crew to track and deal with the threat Benezia represents. Next to them is priestess Hei'lia of the church of Athame. As I understand it that's a title, not her name. That won't be forthcoming for what I gather are religious reasons."

The veiled and robed woman nodded. "Correct."

He returned it then said "Lastly is Spectre/Commander Shepard, no surname. She's a genie, an extremely skilled soldier, and a powerful if problematic biotic. She's also the captain of the Normandy SR1 and the lead in the hunt for Saren and Benezia."

That earned them all a nod followed by a "Highness." at Dr. T'Soni and a "Priestess Hei'lia." at the appropriate parties complete with ritual bows and, surprisingly, deference.

Introductions done he stated "The purpose of this meeting is to what we humans call 'Get everyone on the same page.' In other words to share and coordinate information as well as our responses to that information so we're not inadvertently at odds with each other. If no one minds, since this is nominally a human led operation I'll begin things with Admiral Ahern."

No one objected and the bipedal battleship said "Not much to tell. AIS ain't been on the goddamn ball on this one and believe me, I've put my foot up a few asses over it." He pointed a stick drive at the wall screen and data windows replaced the muted news feed. Financial information mostly, though there were also a few pages of police reports.

"As best we can tell Dr. T'Soni hit her mother's operations hard and fast. A lot harder and faster than anyone had thought possible. We figure it must've nailed Benezia's operations like a Krogan on a Volus. Good work on that one lady."

"Thank you admiral."

The man nodded and said "The only viable target we've come up with is a failed colony bordering the Terminus. Sucker's owned by Benezia's lead follower through more than a dozen cutouts, half of 'em routed through Volus banks. Borderline garden world with heavy mining prospects but the terrain's shit, the gravity's near twice standard, and something about the local flora being bad juju pretty much killed the operation."

Meiara frowned. "I remember that world. The gravity mandated hiring Krogan and Elcor but the terrain was impassable, even for them. It made setting up an initial settlement functionally impossible. The ground was also so dense only a disruption bomb would've been able to level an area big enough to for an initial outpost setup but as I recall it was decided using one would be more trouble than the planet was worth as we were in the middle of a major acquisition at the time."

"You've got access to disruption munitions?" Ahern asked the woman incredulously.

"We own two of the companies that make them." was the off-handed reply.

"Shyeeet. Remind me not to piss you people off."

"The use of basic manners would be a good starting point." He remarked dryly, making the man grunt and glare.

Anderson stepped in, adding "We also managed to get ahold of combat footage from the Krogan rebellions so we have a rough idea of what she's capable of. As I speak the Normandy ground munitions are being resupplied, trading a percentage of other ammo and explosive types for biotic suppressives. I don't figure it'll shut her down but I'd put money on it slowing her down at least."

"I might have a way to take her down without killing her." Shepard interjected.

"I've seen Benezia fight." The Hei'lia replied dubiously. "I severely doubt taking her alive is possible."

"Can I show you via meld ma'am? Aethyta told me not to tell anyone I didn't absolutely need to until we try it. Having you look it over though could help point out anything we missed."

"Why take the risk child? She is a greater threat than you have ever faced."

"Everything we've seen points to her not operating of her own free will. Killing her for things she's being forced to do whether she wants to or not just seems... wrong."

"Interesting, if impudent. Very well, you may approach."

Shepard walked over to the woman, bowed slightly, and held up a hand as if to play pattycake. The Asari returned the gesture and a few seconds later withdrew. "I see. If you can set an appropriate battlefield your idea could, _theoretically_ , work. I never thought I'd say this but I agree with Aethyta regarding sharing your plans. Tell no one without my or the Priestess of Moon and Stars direct and verified permission. Such knowledge, were it to get out, would endanger us all."

"Yes Hei'lia. Um, sorry."

He didn't miss the indulgent amusement in the Asari's voice when she said "You are simply doing what you must and possibly more than you should out of a desire to protect someone you fear is a victim, not an oppressor. While the means you intend may be frightening, the intent behind them is anything but."

"Oh. Um, good?"

"It is. Return to your place please."

He frowned as Shepard did as instructed. From what he knew the woman was _never_ this deferential. The fact she was now, with someone she'd never met before no less, was concerning. From the looks on the faces of the non-Asari in the room that sentiment was shared.

After a moment's silence spectre Nihlus took over and said "The Blackwatch has confirmed what the SSA has uncovered as well as that smugglers have been making regular supply runs with, as best we can tell, esoteric medical supplies like would be used in forensic genetic research. They don't seem to know that however and simply believe they're delivering medical supplies to a ghost colony of outcast Asari. Also, we've noted several of the foremost minds on that topic have disappeared over the last dozen or so years. Why that is we can't ascertain."

"Whatever it is I'd wager it doesn't bode well for any of us." He noted.

"Agreed. Other than that we can't offer much. The Blackwatch has a lot of data but nothing useful at the moment. I believe the human term is they're looking for an injector pin in a pile of grey."

"A needle in a haystack." He corrected. "That's likely the same problem we're having. Dr. T'Soni?"

The young Asari looked up from her omni, where she'd obviously been reviewing her own sources of information, and said "My apologies. On my way here one of my house's huntress teams found a clue as to why my mother's gone what I believe your people call 'Off the rails'. In any case, as several of you have noted I've spent a great deal of my focus removing as much of my mother's financial backing as I can as fast as I can. The Justicars have been aiding me in this and we've made a great deal of progress in destroying or reclaiming the family assets. However, as best we can tell, other than minor accounts still in dispute in the courts, she has left only a few planets, that colony among them, control over one galactic-level company, and a few billion credits."

" _Only_? How in the hell does a few billion credits qualify as _only_?" the room's master of bluntness asked with a scowl.

"House T'Soni has trillions Admiral. A few billion is to us what you humans call 'pocket change'. In any case that of course discounts any assets she's acquired through other means, which she assuredly has, in case of this sort of potentiality. I've also confirmed that my mother was an extremely high ranking member of the church of Athame and was privy to some of it's most guarded secrets. What they may be I don't know. Yet. Whatever they are they must be extremely dangerous to warrant the Hei'lia's response to events."

He couldn't see the scowl on the priestess's face but her manner and tone made it clear regardless. "You overstep yourself child."

"Frequently Hei'lia."

Hm. Apparently the good doctor and the priestess weren't friends. More like combative temporary allies. That could be good or bad and he needed to figure out how to ensure it was the former before the latter blew the entire situation up in everyone's faces.

"Achem." He interjected. "Which company does she still retain control of?"

"Binary Helix. Attempts to remove her from their board or reclaim her shares have been met with refusal by the Noverian executive board. They apparently don't care what she's done to whom, only that Binary Helix's presence on Noveria makes them a great deal of money. Since Binary Helix is based off Noveria we have no authority to interfere with mother's assets there as they're officially an independent world."

He sighed and muttered "Why am I not surprised?" After a moment he looked to the oldest being in the room and asked "Hei'lia?"

"What I am about to tell you all must not be shared with anyone. There must be no records, no reports, no rumors. Anyone who shares it will be publicly declared what I believe you humans call 'Blasphemers' and will draw the focused wrath of all who follow the Athame doctrine."

That was... ominous.

Once everyone swore the oath the woman said "There are writings that date back to the earliest days of the Asari. On the oldest of those is an image that looks much like a Geth ship and the name Nazara. That name, roughly translated, means 'Annihilator of light'. A dramatic term, but my order's sole purpose is to investigate that name and anything related to it."

He frowned then asked "What can you tell us?"

"The name Nazara belonged to an actual entity. What it was we don't know but it appeared to have the ability to take control of people. We've found several still functional artifacts and all warped the minds of any who approached them. Some quickly, some slowly. Some profoundly, others subtly. All however turned evil. We think Benezia may have stumbled across such an artifact and been changed."

The woman looked at Shepard for a moment, then said "If she can reasonably be taken alive please do so. If we can deduce how the process works we may eventually discern how to reverse it. That does not mean however that you should take needless risks. I will however say that if you see such artifacts, run. Do not investigate them, do not retrieve them. _Run_. Destroy them from a distance using heavy weapons. From orbit, if possible."

Anderson shook his head. "That's not gonna fly with a lot of people back home."

"Anyone who thinks to trifle with such artifacts is delusional, a fool, or both. If necessary tell them this is a direct request from a high ranking member of the church of Athame and refer them to me. Mr. Udina, I will leave a number I can be reached at. If it's misused the repercussions would be... unpleasant."

Of that he had no doubt. "I'll see it's not Hei'lia." He looked around and said "This however brings us to what triggered our being here. Saren and Benezia's attack on Eden Prime. As best we can tell it's sole goal was to acquire the recently unearthed Prothean beacon without anyone realizing it. The rest of it was in essence a distraction. Thankfully Shepard and her team discovered and defused the nukes intended to make sure of it. After which I believe the Beacon did something to you?"

"Yes sir. According to after action reports I was yanked towards it, levitated, and screamed for roughly 30 seconds before passing out. All I remember is nightmares. According to Dr. Chakwas I was in an intense dream state for several hours before regaining consciousness. After that all I've had are occasional flashbacks."

Dr. T'soni made a thoughtful hmm for a moment, then offered "As an expert on Protheans I may be able to help you make enough sense of them to be useful. While the chances we'd discover a clue as to my mother's goals are of course low the possibility cannot be discounted. _If_ you're willing. I must warn you however that it will likely be extremely... unpleasant."

"Irrelevent. What do I do?"

"I am... unused to deep melds. I will need several hours to meditate and prepare. If it's acceptable I will visit you this evening. I suggest it be in your ship's medical facility. Neither of us will be coming out of this unscathed."

He didn't miss the tired, fatalistic tone in the redhead's voice when she replied "I never do."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and stuff!

A lot of fics seem to be listing 'Played by' character notes so I figured what the heck, let's give it a shot. So, in no particular order...

Shepard - Kyle Reese in a perpetually bad mood as played by Tania Cagnotto

Liara T'Soni - Mads Mikkelson's Hannibal Lectre as played by Margot Robbie

Miranda Lawson - Jason Bourne as played by an athletic Lucy Pinder with Yvonne Strahovsky's looks and accent.

Donnel Udina - Captain Picard in diplomat mode as played by Alan Rickman

Dr. Karin Chakwas - Dr. Leonard McCoy as played by Judi Dench

Gregory Addams - The original Scotty as played by Tony Shaloub

Wrex - Old man Logan played by the Battleship Bismarck.

Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya - A non-pacifist MacGuyver played by a shy teenaged Emma Watson

Kaiden Alenko - Pre-betrayal Maximus Decimus Meridius as played by Antonio Banderas.

Ashley Williams - Jake Sully as played by a young Salma Hayek

David Anderson - Sgt. Major Avery Jognson as played by a burly Keith David

Tradius Ahern - A perpetually annoyed King Leonidas as played by a main battle tank.

Nihlus Kryik - John Wick in a good mood, voiced by Denzel Washington

Garrus Vakarian - 'Revenge of the Sith' Obi Wan voiced by Robert Downey Jr.

Aethta Vasir - 'The Avengers Civil War' Buckey Barnes, voiced by Angeline Jolie.

Benezia T'Soni (Pre Indoctrination) - A sultry Galadriel as voiced by Monica Belucci.

Saren Arturius - Khan Noonien Singh voiced by a ticked off Daniel Craig

Kelly Chambers - Dr. Harlene Quinzel as played by a jovial Milla Jovovitch

Jack Harper - An altruistic Elliot Carver as played by a dour and distant Martin Sheen

Jefferson Moreau - A scruffy skinny 'Maverick' from Top Gun voiced by John Oliver.

Alyssa Croft - Cindy Crawford in her late 20's.

AIS Agent Bishop - A non-creepy 'Skyfall' Raoul Silva as played by Sean Bean

That done...

Shepard and the AI - Like Shepard says, she doesn't care who or what you are. She judges you by what you've done, why, and to whom. The AI was simply defending itself so she, being who she is, automatically did what she could to protect it.

Kai Leng and Henry Lawson - Leng, at this point in the story, is an Ex-Yakuza cyborg Ninja that usually only kills people, but for the right price will do whatever you need him to. He's cold, efficient, and one of the best assassins alive. Henry Lawson thus hired him to 'retrieve' Miranda as soon as possible before her 'Fools Errand' with Shepard and company gets her killed. He doesn't believe the soul-bonding stories about Miri and Shepard, calling them pointless drama to enthrall weak minded romantics. His plans are to break her mind, rebuild it to what he wants, and use her in every way imaginable. His current agent was the beta test for the process intended for Miranda. Her loyalty to him is absolute. As for Orianna, he's also looking for her but she's been completely off the map for so long he's half convinced she's dead.

The Hei'lia is the leader of a sect of the Church of Athame, not secret but not well known either, whose sole purpose is to suppress all knowledge of, covertly investigate, and if possible figure out how to stop the Reapers. All members give up their names and former lives on entering the order, a lot like a Justicar but less abrasive or violent. They're all very powerful however and in terms of skill more than match the Justicars. Most of their work is done looking into rumors and preparing. When something promising is found they send 3 sisters to investigate it with 30 more on hot standby if things go bad. They have near-absolute authority among the Asari, answer only to the leader of the Church of Athame, and give precisely zero shits about politics or economics. Their sole focus in on the Reapers.

In terms of religious rank she's the rough equivalent of an archbishop, hence why Shepard, who's an Athamist, automatically defers to her. Amusingly, she thinks Shepard is very polite and well mannered. If/When she says so people will laugh their asses off so hard they'll need medical attention.

Benezia owning Binary Helix instead of Saren - Benezia was always a corporate mover and shaker. Meanwhile Saren is a Spectre, not a business mogul. So why the hell would he have a ton of stock in a top tier company? He might have some, though I doubt it, but enough for a board position? The idea makes no sense. He'd have other sources of income and could simply seize anything he needs from whoever has it _plus_ he had the full backing of the Turian government. He never cared, in game or my fic, for luxury. He was a man with a job to do. Period. After being indoctrinated, while he lost his moral center, the basic need to protect his people was still there. It's how Sovereign/Nazara has been controlling him.

Liara's lack of skill at melding - She hates melding with other Asari. The casual debauchery it represents pisses her off and the thought of the one place she can control, her mind, being vulnerable to _anyone_ is a massive hell no. She's willing to meld with Shepard because she knows Shepard is totally unskilled at melding and that keeping the link entirely 1-sided shouldn't be a problem. She also, because of the fact she's so full of hate, doesn't want anyone finding out. For an Asari it's unnatural and would both piss off and terrify a lot of people. Since she hates Benezia most of all she's willing to push her comfort zones to be able to hunt her down like a rabid dog. Not to kill her, Liara does still have a vague sense of family, but she's _really_ looking forward to taking away every micron of her mother's power, prestige, and obliterating her reputation.


	23. Chapter 23 - Of Brains and Council

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

CH - 23

Shepard watched warily as Dr' T'Soni and Aethyta walked/whooshed into medbay. Neither looked happy. More like there was a brick wall in front of them and they were gonna bulldoze it, consequences be damned.

Next to her Miranda was scowling at them and she could sense traces of fear through the bond. What of she wasn't sure but she figured the woman was probably worried that if things went wrong the bond would fuck her up by association. It wasn't, she figured, an unreasonable concern.

The moment she'd warned Dr. Chakwas what was going to happen the older woman had heaved an exasperated and fatalistic sigh then merged two cubicles, put two beds directly against each other, and at T-30 had started running medical checks and wiring her into a half dozen scanners. A portable MRI had been locked around her head like a funky motorcycle helmet and she was currently only able to see thanks to a VR display and microcams.

She wasn't strapped down though. The doc seemed to have realized how well that'd go over and had settled for tucking her into bed like a little kid. The combination of cool soft bed and warm blankets was actually kinda nice and she'd been dozing for the last five minutes or so.

"Dr. T'Soni, Matriarch Aethyta." Chakwas said by way of greeting.

Miranda said nothing. She simply glared at them.

"The hell is all this shit doc? We're doing a meld, not brain surgery." Aethyta commented dubiously.

"As the ship's doctor my duty is to ensure the crew, it's captain foremost, are fit for duty. This I think you'll agree could easily render Shepard _un_ fit and stick her back in the ICU with _yet another_ case of brain burn. I'm therefore going to monitor her vitals to ensure that doesn't happen." The human woman remarked pointedly.

"Ah. And Liara?"

"I'll do what I can to ensure her safety to the best of my ability as well though I'm only certified for general practice and trauma services in regards to Asari. There are a few things universal to all brains however so I can at least rely on those to maintain a functional level of treatment."

"Nice. Okay little wing, time to fly."

She didn't miss the blush on the young Asari's crest when she muttered "I'm not 6 any more sire."

"Moment you forget how to have fun's the moment you're old kiddo." The elder blue replied with a chuckle as the glow of biotics lifted the archaeologist and set carefully her in bed.

Chakwas instantly set about making sure Dr. T'Soni was as comfortable as possible then wired her up with scanners too. Ten minutes later that was done and the older woman sat down at a portable desk with a swarm of holo displays over it.

After a few minutes to get a baseline Chakwas said "All right, I'm ready on my end of things. Please remember that neither of you is good to anyone, least of all yourselves, if you fry your own brains being fools. You may begin when ready."

She looked to Miri who nodded once. That was it but she could feel the concern in it, and the fear. She managed a reassuring smile, or at least tried to, then looked to Dr. T'Soni and said "Ready."

"Very well then. Let us begin."

-^V^- -^V^-

She felt a jarring yank and was suddenly in that starfield Aethyta had called 'The embrace of the goddess'. The... peace of it felt as wrong as always but not quite as alien this time. The link to Miri was stronger too. The brunette's consciousness was like seeing a collage of video feeds out of focus just enough that making out any details was impossible but not so much you couldn't make sense of the overall picture. What she saw... it was like looking at her sisters but the pain was somehow sharper, more personal.

She looked around and spotted Dr. T'Soni a short ways away, approaching as if walking on the night sky. What struck her wasn't how young the woman was, it was how old. Not physically. Emotionally. Whatever the Asari had been through had aged her beyond her years. It'd also given the apparently not so good doctor an edge like a knife.

"Dr. T'Soni." She said by way of greeting.

"Please, call me Liara." Her compatriot replied with a smile she could tell instantly was all pretense. She rolled with it and said "Shepard then. What next?"

"This is where my expertise comes in." Liara replied with an actual, genuine smile that took about 20 years off her appearance. "I need you to recall what you can of the visions, then, hmm, route them to me like a video feed or extranet connection. I'll them 'watch' them and try to make sense of what I can see."

She nodded but said "I can do that but it ain't gonna be pretty."

"That could be because you don't have a frame of reference. Like an omni app trying to understand a state of the art server. What I can hopefully do is give us all an idea of the, hmm, architecture I suppose, or maybe even get an idea of the file directories. It wouldn't be full understanding of course but it would undoubtedly be better than what you face now. If we're lucky it might also reduce the frequency and severity of your flashbacks."

She nodded as the doctor's explanation snapped things into focus, turning mystical mumbo jumbo into simple science. "Got it."

"Very well. Are you prepared?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I also. Let us begin."

She mentally rooted out what she'd gotten from the beacon and snarled as it ripped through her like another collage, this one of half-molten shrapnel loosely held together by raw emotion.

That wasn't all she saw however. She got bits of Dr. T'Soni's life. How she'd been forced to live in constant fear. Never been allowed freedom, or the luxury of casual friends. How she'd been tormented by those around her either jealous of her power or hateful of the fact she was a pureblood. How Benezia had been distant at best, and how Aethyta had done her best but it'd never really been enough. That Liara had needed to trick her way into college, and then still been subject to duties and responsibilities she'd never wanted or like, tainting what could've been freedom with the slavery of nobility.

She saw hate.

Liara hated the Asari. No, not just hated. Despised, with a vicious edge to it that made clear she liked it when other Asari suffered. This entire situation, pitting her against her mother, was both defiance and revenge with the galaxy's fate coming in a distant third.

But she also saw joy. Accomplishments no one had thought she could manage, well before anyone had thought she could've managed them. Maintaining perfect grades all the way up to and through college. Excelling at sports and discovering a genuine interest in history. Being accepted to Serrice university, going on her first dig as an undergrad with no 'real world' experience and no minders finally out on her first real adventure. Her accomplishments. Being praised for her work. The nerve-wracking weeks before facing the graduatory commission and the party that'd ensued. Knowing that Benezia, in her own way _did_ care, and that while Aethyta wasn't good at it, her sire not only cared but actually tried to show it.

She saw a woman that didn't really have a home, or a people. Just duty on duty and a seemingly neverending struggle for freedom.

She knew what that was like.

Suddenly they were back to the starfield and Dr. T'Soni was glaring at her. "What did you see?"

She was silent a moment, trying to figure out how to not put her foot in her mouth, then said "I saw someone that's been shit on by life and refuses to quit."

That earned her a wary look. "And?"

She shrugged. "Long as you don't take it out on innocents I've got no problem. I can't exactly get on your crest about wanting revenge, right?"

The Asari eyed her warily for a moment, then nodded tersely.

"So, were you able to make sense of the visions?"

Back on semi-familiar ground the archaeologist said "A bit. It's a recording of an attack, I think. Or several. I saw death on an unthinkable scale. Giant dark shapes blotting out the sky. Something screaming unfathomable concepts. I can confirm that these 'reapers' my mother mentioned are real and a grave threat however."

"That's more than we had. How do we get outta here?"

"You don't know?"

"I've been here exactly once before." She replied.

"Ah. Hm, I'm not sure. For a... pureblood... Asari it's instinctual. Perhaps you need to stop thinking and simply do."

She blinked, then suddenly she was awake again and her head had the 'fuzzy' feeling of having been pumped full of drugs.

"Awake again I see commander. How do you feel?"

"Like a fish swimming in chems. What happened?"

"Your neural activity jumped to nearly 500% of normal and in it's totality." The doctor replied, carefully removing the helmet. "You somehow weren't damaged by it but I thought it best to dose you with anti-shock drugs just in case. Can you sit up?"

She did so and then went through the usual cognitive checks like following the light, answering a few questions, and then proving her eye-hand coordination wasn't wrecked by playing touch my finger. Once that was done the doctor said "Light duty for three days, then pending another check I'll certify you fully operational."

"But I'm fine." She said, confused.

"You _appear_ fine yes, but I don't understand a lot of the readings I got because your baselines don't react quite the same way an Asari's do. I'll not risk your health by putting faith in maybe's commander."

She blinked, surprised, then nodded and asked "Can I get up now?"

"Yes, and I expect you to head straight to the mess and eat something. You also burned a lot of calories."

"Um, okay. Uh, thanks? I think?"

That earned her a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "You're welcome."

-^V^- -^V^-

Now in the comm's room speaking to the council via secured relay since a full meeting hadn't been possible to schedule on short notice, she finished relaying her report and waited to see what the response was.

"This is remarkably unhelpful Huntress Shepard. You're sure Dr. T'Soni didn't glean more?" Tevos inquired. "Melds usually are more... productive."

"Yes ma'am." She replied, nodding. "As best we can tell it's like someone with the mental capacity of a Vorcha trying to follow Salarians talking about theoretical particle research in Saash. It's not just a matter of a lack of referents it's that our nervous systems aren't complex enough to process what we're experiencing. I've appended reports by others confirming that's a fairly standard reaction. Getting as much as we did is pretty much unprecedented."

"Your take on these 'Reapers' Spectre Shepard?" Sparatus inquired.

She grimaced. "I think they slaughtered the Protheans sir. A Sterilizer strike but on a galactic scale. It'd explain why there's so little left of them and what there is is so badly damaged."

"I see. Spectre Kryik?"

"I personally questioned Dr. T'Soni to see if she was withholding anything. She's not. In fact she seems rather annoyed she couldn't get more. My recommendation at this point is that we continue to develop and follow leads while working on crew integration and further testing of the Normandy."

"What leads do you have so far?" Valern asked pointedly.

"Financial records and potential criminal links to theoretical research." The Turian replied. "We're already planning our next operation and hope to have an initial report in 24 hours."

"Very well. Continue as planned and be sure to keep a close monitor on Dr. T'Soni. Valern out." The Salarian's face disappeared.

Tevos sighed and said "We'll make sure to relay any further intelligence council resources gather. In the meantime please continue to exercise wisdom and restraint. Tevos out." The Asari's image blinked off.

"Spectres." Sparatus stated with a nod before he too disconnected.

"That went better than expected." Nihlus noted.

"So far." She agreed. Then she tapped an icon on the command display and said "Joker, get us to op point 1, full stealth insert. Angle us for an Osiris launch at target then use discretion to maneuver for minimal profile."

"On it."

Another icon tap later she said "Weapons, Load and prep one Osirus. Prep for launch immediately after exit from the relay."

"Weapons, load and prep one Osirus aye ma'am."

She nodded and tapped the icon for ship-wide address. "All hands, ready for condition S1. I repeat, S1. For the specialists, do what you have to so you can turn off all your nonessential electronics and reduce the essentials to minimum required power."

Tap. "XO, you're more up on how to do what we need to do next. You have the con."

"Con aye ma'am. You may wish to head here and observe."

"On my way. Shepard out."

She flicked a hand at the display and looked to Nihlus, who smiled. "You may not be inclined to command Shepard, but you've a talent for it I think. I'll join you on the bridge. I may be able to offer a few ideas."

She nodded and led him out of the room to the command podium in the CiC. Pressley nodded once to them then resumed his work, most of which seemed to consist of giving section heads specific directives and reminding them of the systems issues they'd already run into.

A few minutes later she heard and felt the docking clamps securing the Normandy let them loose followed by the pitch of the main drives upshifting.

It took them half an hour or so to get to the Relay, then she felt the familiar jerk/dizzy/lurch of being fired across the galaxy. Two more jumps and a static discharge later, the ship's internal lights dimmed and Pressley hit the 'all address' icon on the podium, then said "All hands set condition S1 and ready for stealth Relay jump. Weapons, spin up that Osirus and program it for a gravity-assisted orbital insert, minimal thrusters. Nav, sending you potential cover positions in-system. Let's do this people."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Heyas. Sorry for the short chapter this month. As with my Kigo fic, I couldn't come up with a better break point than this without doubling the size of the chapter. Admittedly my chapter sizes have been increasing but part of why I do fanfic is to tighten my writing style so I don't use 20 words where I should just be using 10. Trust me when I say me getting overly verbose is a bad thing lol. Next month you can expect a much larger chapter since this will be the Normandy's first major operation while under Shepard's command.

Thus next month you can expect... INVASION!


	24. Chapter 24 - Grand Theft Gunship

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

CH - 24

Shepard, eying the tac plot as the last of the drone scans came in, summed up what everyone looking at it was thinking in three words.

"This's gonna suck."

Before her on the main wallscreen in the CiC was the enemy facility. They knew it was an enemy facility because it had a lot of Asari in medical uniforms, heavy defenses, and the security people were all armed and armored to deal with a full fleet squadron assault. The way things were built wasn't Asari though. No flowing lines, no gentle curves. Things weren't made out of the resin Asari used for offworld buildings that looked like the stone they used on Thessia. There were no lakes or pools, no grass or trees.

No _life_.

Liara, there for her expertise on Asari science since they were potentially dealing with Asari scientists, made a disgusted sound and absently flicked a hand saying 'This is fundamentally disturbing' in high dance.

"What was that?"

She looked to the side as Pressley asked what the blue 'woman' had just done. The doctor blinked, then sighed. "My apologies, I sometimes speak what you humans would term 'noble' without thinking. Regarding what I said - I stated that what I am seeing is what I believe you would call... hmm... blasphemous."

"It's disturbing, I'll give it that." He agreed.

"I do not think you understand. Asari revere life, yet before me I see none. Even the people move as mechs. It would be a mistake to classify this as an Asari facility I think. Nothing here is. Including the people."

Before anyone could protest Shepard interjected "The closest analogy would be a colony adopting the entire mentality, spirituality, and culture of Batarians."

"Like that'd ever happen." The man scoffed.

She turned to look him in the eyes and said "It did. The entire colony was destroyed, everyone there killed, and then it was nuked from orbit just to be sure."

He looked sick at that but she returned her focus to the display before her. After a few moments of silent appraisal she asked "Miri, Bishop, ideas?"

Bishop looked to the brunette and said "While none of my people are trained for this kind of operation Ms. Lawson not only is, she's supposedly very good."

She nodded and looked to her bondmate, who sniffed disdainfully. " _Supposedly_? Hmph. Operations like this are old hat. I warn you however if I go I go _alone_. I don't need some git following me around clumping about like a drunk."

"What about the OIIA's?" Bishop inquired. "Their suits have excellent EWar capabilities and one of them is a skilled hacker. Sending them could both lighten Ms. Lawson's workload and give her on-call fire support as needed."

She turned and looked at him. "There are only two militaries that deploy forces with surgically altered brains and hopped up on war drugs. Ponder that"

He grimaced but she had a point and she knew it, even if comparing elite SSA special forces to Vorcha shock troopers probably qualified as a low blow or something.

"Repugnant as the idea of OIIA support is Shepard I'll admit I'd feel better knowing I could call on backup if I need it."

"Wrex and I." She stated. "The Normandy can do a low and fast flyby, we can drop out the stern in a MAKO on an arrestor sled, then provide arty and exfil." She scowled and made a mental note to send a list of potential solutions for high speed ground asset exfiltration and airborne asset exfil. As it was the only way they had to get people out was a Fulton rig and those were almost as dangerous as they were useful. The current problem being they were also useless in high gravity.

Then she had an idea and motioned to Bishop. They walked over to a corner of the room and she secure-texted him _Can the stealth systems work if the well deck is open?_

 _At reduced effectiveness, I believe so. Why?_

 _What would happen if we sat a MAKO in here, systems powered down to minimum, and used it's cannon for fire support?_

 _I don't know. I'll see what the design team says. If it works it'd solve our air to ground support issues._

 _It'd patch 'em, not fix 'em._ she corrected.

 _True, but it would be a functional patch and more than we have now._

She motioned back to the table and said "Sorry, had a sudden idea on a possible patch for our fire support issues. Anyways, Miri, get a plan on my desk by 1100 hours ship time. Everyone else prep for stealth operations. Remember, minimal power, minimal thermal, minimal radiation. I know that'll cause issues for you two," She said, looking to both Wrex and Tali, "But better uncomfortable than dead."

He grunted, the kid simply nodded. A quick look around got her more nods and she said "Dismissed."

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda looked around, the pistol Shepard's sister Cindy had given her sweeping the room as she ducked into it.

The plan had been simple. Use a high-grav wingsuit to HAHO out of the ship, glide 120 klicks to the LZ, then infiltrate the compound. Recon it, grab any data she thought looked important, and then get out. Use a Jet Pack to get to altitude, and a modified Fulton rig system to get back into the ship.

It was simple, straightforward, and hard to cock up.

So far it'd worked like a charm.

The Infiltrator suit Cindy had made for her had made it not only possible, but easy. Between it's cloak and omni getting into the place had been about as hard as getting into a mental ward. Which, considering the locals all acted like they'd gotten absolutely pissed, wasn't too far off the mark.

She quickly checked the room's contents and then left. Other than research supplies it hadn't held much of interest. All she could do was copy the inventory list and move on so she did. She flattened herself against a wall as a researcher carrying a box full of storage drives walked by, eyes completely vacant and motions limp.

She frowned. Asari weren't known for heavy drug use. Drinking sure, but drugs tended to dehydrate them. For one to be so high she could barely walk wasn't something she'd seen more than a handful of times in her life and only in Asari who'd been so shit on by life they were so intent on making the pain go away they didn't care if they died.

Her frown intensified. No, she'd seen this kind of thing before, just not in Asari.

She'd seen it in cultists.

Was that what this all was? Some cult chasing legends of an ancient god of destruction?

Her instincts said no.

They said it was much, much worse than that.

She hated it when they did that.

Once the Asari was safely distant she started following her hoping to be led to somewhere important. A few hallways, a trip across a plaza past a statue of something like a Geth ship but not, and into another building later she smiled. A research lab data analysis center. Jackpot.

She quickly hacked her way through their firewalls, noting as she did that the architecture of their system wasn't anywhere near Asari standard. It was a bodge job of badly written code that looked like something a, well, drugged out cultist computer tech would come up with actually.

Asari systems were usually hard to hack because their security people tended to be hundreds of years old, with all the experience that entailed. This crap was about as hard to get through as pudding.

A few minutes later she was in their system and got a look at their file directories. A moment later she scowled. They were in the process of consolidating everything to move or destroy, and from the fact several directories already showed signs of partial deletion she was betting the entire site was about to be wiped.

Some of the data was weird however. A lot of it was genetics but nothing she recognized. That put her on edge. She was an expert on the entire topic for a variety of reasons. Why these people to be engaging in some form of exo-genetics based off what looked to be partially reclaimed sequences from a species she couldn't guess.

She went over it all in more detail and it looked like they were trying to rebuild whatever it was's code so they could make a new one. What of she had no idea and that put her even more on edge. She was familiar enough with galactic genetics to identify something's general species by eying its sequences. Maybe not their specifics, but she could tell reptile, mammal, plant, and so on, plus tell if something was one of the major species.

This? not a bloody clue.

The researchers work however was incredible. The leaps in technique this all represented made the Aphrodite program look like a child's lab experiment. It was very nearly over her head and that wasn't making her feel wonderful either. Both because it made her feel stupid and because if someone with an IQ of 200 couldn't get it then the people here had to be so far off the IQ chart they were on a totally different chart.

She shook her head after nearly half an hour of data raiding. There was too much to copy to her omni even with it's ridiculous capacity. With how involved it all was she was sure they needed everything to make sense of anything however, so that meant either copying it all or stealing the physical drives. She decided on the latter and considered her options.

Call in reinforcements as a distraction? No. Too high a chance they were wired to self destruct or could get taken out in the crossfire.

Trigger an alarm and use that as a distraction? Normally not an option since professionals would immediately move to secure sensitive materials the moment an alarm sounded but these people weren't right in the head, so maybe.

She blinked, then smirked as a plan occurred to her. Moving quickly but smoothly she ducked out of the room as someone walked in then looked around the hallway. Nothing in sight. Good. She looked around for any signs pointing to the data center and spotted one at a nearby intersection.

It pointed her to the right so she headed that way, making her steps as soft as she could just in case the audio signature reduction systems in the armor weren't as good as advertised. She figured they were, everything from this 'Cindy' person seemed to've been exactly as specified but she wasn't going to tempt fate unless she had no other choice.

A few signs and a dozen hallways later she spotted what she was after ahead. It was secured of course but thanks to her splice into the local network she had the same clearances as the local head of security.

Quickly typing in the right code and transmitting another on the correct frequency she headed inside and then rushed over to an Asari guard a few paces away that looked up from the floor towards the door.

She nailed the woman with a quick series of nerve strikes to the neck, head, and torso that left her unconscious but unharmed just in case any alarms were set to go off if they registered injuries. Temporarily putting someone's nervous system into a state of shock wasn't something that most networks could even sense, much less get upset over.

She sat them back in their chair, leaned them against the wall, and if she got lucky they'd assume they'd simply dozed off. If not she'd deal with it when it happened since her usual solution, using a medicated patch applied over an artery, stood a nasty chance of causing an overdose. Having one of their people go into a psychotic rage or keel over dead of a heart attack would trigger alarms however.

A few minutes later she tracked down the actual physical servers since the first rooms were data entry terminals and cooling systems that had the entire place cold enough she was a bit perky. The suit's life support systems could change that but the less power she used the better her odds at not winding up dodging fanatics. Compared to that being a bit chilly wasn't exactly a major inconvenience.

Getting the physical drives out of the servers without being detected was a pain since she needed to essentially redo the entire disk management system, copy a few billion files, and then de-link them without triggering any alarms. It took hours, and by the time she was done she was both tired and extremely edgy.

When she finished however she had nearly a hundred drives crammed to the figurative gills in a duffel she scrounged from a nearby supply closet.

Having done what she'd set out to she hacked through the security system again, arranged a patrol to be sent out with a specified pilot, then arranged a fake ID that'd allow her to get to safety without anyone realizing she'd even been in the area.

Once she'd set up a temporary ID that'd do what she needed she activated the holo camouflage suite in the armor and simply walked out of the server room towards the motor pool. It was a short duration system but would more than do what she needed. Namely 'tell' people she was a security guard in the same armor locals wore complete with faked biometrics and IFF.

She'd seen such things before but never from an independant source. This 'Cindy' person had to be ludicrously intelligent to pull such a feat off alone when she knew of corporate research programs with nearly unlimited budgets that'd been working on the same bloody thing and couldn't do much better. For a single woman with unknown resources to pull it off almost boggled the mind.

That made her wonder how smart Shepard was. The woman supposedly had more than a dozen master's degrees, nearly 2 BA's, and supposedly had sorted out the academics for the Normandy in a few hours. That bespoke an extremely capable mind. Obviously a clumsy stunted mind but still, she had to be extremely intelligent.

Getting to the motor pool was easy. All she needed to do was follow more signs - Asari adored having things clearly labeled - to her destination and then locate her 'assigned' craft. A quick check verified it was fully loaded and fueled so she got in, secured the craft, and contacted flight control. A few minutes later she was airborne and leaving the compound with the grav compensators on high.

Once she was free and clear she used the com system in her helmet, supposedly undetectable and untraceable, to call Shepard.

"M-One to N-Apex. Mission complete, RTB in confiscated enemy craft. Requesting heading."

A few seconds later the woman said "Bearing 41 relative, land at destination and prep for security verification."

"Confirmed."

She headed that way and spotted the field base that'd been established. It wasn't much more than a leveled off area, a MAKO, 4 pop-turrets, and an LZ marked with spray paint. She shrugged and landed on the X then popped the hatch and exited the craft with her hands up.

Four heavily armed and armored marines swarmed out of the back of the IFV and searched her, then searched the gunship. Once they'd verified everything was safe Shepard's voice sounded over the com. "Wire the MAKO, use the Gunship to RTB."

She nodded to herself even as the Marines complained about the loss. A few minutes later they'd done as ordered and they were all airborne, following the course she'd been given until they spotted the Normandy ahead in a valley hovering with the well deck hatch wide open. She flew them in slowly, then parked in the space that'd obviously been prepared for them.

Once they'd disembarked an AIS officer, not Bishop for whatever reason, took her and her cargo to a meeting room for debrief. Unsurprisingly they showed as much interest in her new armor's capabilities as they did the mission itself. Still, the man was impressed at what she'd done and that, she figured, was a good thing. If she was going to be operating in an official capacity from now on, a repugnant concept at best, establishing a reputation as both capable and discrete was a must.

Once they finished with her she followed her sense of Shepard to the bridge and found the woman plotting how best to obliterate the base. Since neither of them was one for small talk she asked "Did you get anything of use off the data drives?"

"Other than file directories and some notes, no. Everything else is heavily encrypted. The AIS and Spectre ComOps are gonna pull a joint op and see what they can do."

She nodded. "Probably a wise move. Now that the SA has a spectre the various human and citadel security agencies need to develop functional working relationships. Why are we switching the gunship for a MAKO?"

"Simple. The gunship's more useful. That and I'm gonna see if we can make it stealthy. I dunno how the Normandy's stealth works so we'll need to come up with mods on the fly. We're heavy on technical capabilities however so other than ideas and materials it shouldn't be a problem."

"Ah." She replied, nodding. Shepard had an excellent point there. "It can also, if your earlier comments regarding the Normandy still hold, provide ATS close air support."

"Probably but still working on ideas for that."

"Use up-scaled versions of your rifle. I'd imagine they'd be quite capable in that regard."

"Good idea. See what you and Wrex can come up with."

She blinked and Shepard said "I can do hardware but not concepts or designs. Not creative enough I guess. Wrex however knows every weapons system there is and you are creative. You'd have to be to do your job. You're also extremely intelligent and highly educated. Between the two of you I'd be surprised if you couldn't come up with something."

She scowled. "Flattery Shepard? Really?"

"I don't do flattery. No talent for it and really, all it does is make people prone to ego-driven mistakes. Besides, if I wanna earn your trust, feeding you a buncha bullshit won't help."

She sighed. "True, and more than many ever figure out. Of course most people have their heads up their arses too."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and acronyms

Fulton Rig - Using a ballon, steel cable, and a hook on an aircraft, people can be caught and winched into a low and slow flying airplane without it needing to land. The best example I can come up with is from the second Nolan Batman movie when he grabs the money launderer in hong kong and then gets yanked into a C-130.

Gotten pissed - A britishism for being extremely drunk

Bodge Job - An improvised solution intended as a short term fix. The old MacGuyver and A-Team shows had tons of examples.

Bad news

Due to continuing and worsening medical issues, a lack of medical care due to beurocratic BS and companies not wanting to do their jobs because it's expensive, and my distaste for pain medication this will be the last month I put things out on a monthly basis. I'll now be putting out new chapters when I can. Just to give people an idea, I did this chapter in less than a week and it's half the size I'd originally intended, badly proofed (by me) and the final straw. I apologize and wish I could do better, but when you live in constant pain and need 2 canes just to get to the bathroom, well, I hope people can understand.


	25. Chapter 25 - Godzilla on Omega

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on, but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The site, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, the site _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don'tknow why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

CH - 25

Once again back in a conference room Shepard looked at the faces before her and said "Miri's operation was a success on all fronts. The problem now is until the AIS and Specter ComOps can filter the data there isn't much to do."

People nodded and she continued the brief. "We have three leads. First, Feros. STG op. Problem is I hate the STG and dislike Salarians so they can kiss my ass."

"You do?" Alenko asked, surprised.

"I'm nearly a third Krogan by DNA, more than by temperament, and I have a bad history with geneticists. Under SAISD control I had to fake friendly. I don't anymore."

That earned her a suddenly contemplative frown from Wrex plus surprised and/or sympathetic looks from most everyone else in the room.

"Second," She continued, "Omega. Saren broke the rule so Aria might help."

Ash, piping in, asked "What rule ma'am?"

"Don't fuck with Aria." She looked around to see if everyone got it, then said "Third, Noveria. Independant corporate enclave and not nice about keeping it that way."

"They have defenses on par with the Citadel's." Bishop explained. "Their security is also second to none and anyone they catch trying to break it dies both publicly and badly. As they don't recognize Citadel authority our only chance would be to request entry and explain the situation to them. Also, Dr. T'Soni's position as Benezia's heir may hold some weight there. While I doubt they'll hand over control of Binary Helix she may have enough pull with them to arrange an inspection or something. Shepard, you might also remind them that while their business may be on Noveria, their customers are not and one word from you or Nihlus could result in all of their non-Noverian assets being seized as potential evidence."

"An interesting strategem but I believe I have more... diplomatic options open to me. What they are I'll withhold until such time as they're needed however."

She had a feeling 'Diplomatic' meant 'Smile while you knife them in the back' but that wasn't her concern as long as innocents didn't get caught in the crossfire. "Liara's plan is primary, Bishop's secondary. Notes, suggestions?"

"What're we doing with the gunship?" Vakarian asked. "It'd be useful but the thing's about as stealthy as a Vorcha."

"We're changing that. Miri, you're lead on modding the Gunship. Anyone with ideas, run them by her. No one shares what we do or how without my permission however. Stealth tech's too dangerous to let loose."

That met with everyone's agreement and she said "Wrex, setup sim ammo for everyone's weapons then work with Bishop to easily block off or unblock sections of the Normandy for CQB training."

"Weak weapons are weak training Shepard." The huge reptile countered with a scowl.

"Think the Normandy's guts could take a shot from your gun? Or mine? Or Zorah's?"

He grunted and agreed "Good point. I'll see what I can do."

She nodded and said "Thanks. Dismissed."

People grumbled but didn't argue. She motioned Miri and Bishop over, then said "Miri, I want you leading B-Squad. Bishop, copy all records on the gunship project to SAC. Call it a peace offering."

He nodded. "I'd already planned on it but having your blessing will soothe some ruffled feathers in command."

Miri was less pleased. "Why the bloody... "

She held up her hands to wave off the protests she could feel forming in Miri's mind and asked "Am I diplomatic? Do I have social skills? How's my sense of restraint? Do I have the training or temperament to deal with civvies in a CZ?"

"No." The woman ground out.

"I know that leaves you light on combat capabilities but I need the heavy hitters in SS1. They're the only people, aside from you, that won't get pasted trying to keep up with me."

"SS1?" Bishop inquired.

"Specialist Squad one." She explained.

"Ah. Clearly demarcating them from military operations, yet giving them an inherently military structure so they can interface more clearly with actual military personnel. Unexpectedly adept of you."

She blinked, then said "Uh, thanks. I think." She returned her focus to her bondmate and said "Look, I know how you feel about leading people and that asking you to do it anyway is a shit thing to do to you but what other choice do I have?"

The brunette fumed but she had a point and they both knew it. Since there was no arguing with her logic her bondmate shot her a venomous glare then left.

"A word of advice, Shepard?" Bishop offered.

"What?"

"A successful marriage is based on four things. Trust. Communication. Consideration. Balance. Have you tried to establish any of those with Ms. Lawson?"

She scowled. She knew what she needed to do, but so far she'd only made things worse because she was totally clueless. She knew it, Miri knew it, everyone knew it. The issue was fixing it. "I don't know how."

"Speak to Ms. Chambers or XO Pressley. She's a trained psychotherapist and he's been married to his wife more than 30 years. Both would be boundless fonts of useful advice. Just do so discretely. I'd wager you're not interested in your love life being ship gossip and I know Ms. Lawson isn't."

"Consider it classified?"

He chuckled. "An interesting viewpoint but essentially correct."

"Oh. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

-^V^- -^V^-

Chambers had cornered both her and Miri after lunch and practically dragged them to their quarters for their first therapy session. It'd been mostly confusing, with some gut twisting and emotions she wasn't sure how to process tossed in. Miri had needed to explain about half of it and she'd felt like an idiot for not getting all of it.

About all they'd established for sure was that she was protective of Miri on an instinctual level, had no real people skills outside of things related to military operations, really did want to change that, and was willing to try if someone could explain it in a way she could make sense of it.

Her bondmate on the other hand felt trapped, powerless, was claustrophobic in regards to, well, life, and thought she was a 'Well-meaning daft git of a puppy' which had made Chambers chortle for a moment before apologizing for some reason.

Humans made no sense sometimes.

The next few days were pretty much constant drills, either for the crew or for the ground teams. Cleaning sim-ammo splotches off the walls, floor, and ceiling became a 'reward' for taking bottom scores or not pushing yourself. To everyone's credit the second one only happened once.

She also worked on PT for the entire crew. Not to be a bitch, she assured them, but because you were harder to hurt or kill if you were at your physical best. No one liked it but she gave them all the data needed to prove her case so they settled for a lot of complaining. Soldiers complained, that was part of being a soldier, so she left it at that.

Dr. T'Soni and Aethyta spent most of their time in their quarters. Not to be snobby they assured people, but because Liara was still recovering and honestly, was trying to avoid potentially disastrous cultural oops moments. Since the woman had a good point she made sure to add a brief on what Liara was and an outline of how to deal with her without causing such issues in a mass email to the entire crew.

Just under 2 weeks after Miri's mission her Omni beeped with an incoming message and she checked it, then sent an acknowledgement of receipt and called another group meeting. Once everyone was there she got to the point.

"I just got permission from Aria to dock at Omega. I will take one team ashore. Everyone else is on hot standby or guard duty. Secure all ship's systems, especially electronics, and remember. If you're not paranoid on Omega you're an organ donor."

"Who's going with?" Joker asked.

"Wrex and Ash. I want you both armed, armored, and on the pointy end by the time we dock. Everyone else is on hot standby. Joker?"

"Nineteen hours, give or take unless you wanna give the drives a good stress test."

"Later." She did the math then said "Hit the sack then meet here at 1700 shipboard time for brief and final prep people. Dismissed."

-^V^- -^V^-

Aria watched as Shepard, Wrex, and a human woman that put her in mind of a Rachit Prowler stopped where Brakk motioned.

Seeing Wrex was, she had to admit, somewhat of a surprise. One of the oldest and most feared names in mercenary circles and, aside from a few new scars, the same as always. The fact he was unchanging in a galaxy full of change was, in it's odd way, somewhat soothing.

The human woman was interesting. Heavily armed, decently armored if somewhat... cheaply, and she had an edge to her most humans couldn't pull off. With another few decades of seasoning she might wind up the galaxy's next Zaeed Massani. Hopefully less scarred. She was a pretty thing.

Shepard was, for the first time in her experience, how did the humans call it? A bundle of nerves? Not in a jittery way but she was obviously a woman facing more problems than she could, or even knew how to, handle. All of which Elsa's memories had suggested but in-person confirmation was always good.

After a few moments she finally motioned and said "Shepard may approach."

Her second in command nodded and stepped aside. The redhead walked over, sat where directed, and said "Aria."

"Shepard. I understand you're bonded now."

"It's... complicated."

She couldn't help a curt chuckle. "Yes, quite." After a moment her amusement passed and she asked "What do you want?"

"Anything you're willing to share about Saren Arturius."

"Volatile information." She replied, scowling. "Expensive information."

Wrex piped in and said "Send me the bill. Broker'll handle it."

That gave her a moment's pause. The broker was directly involved? Disturbing. Who or whatever the Broker was she could count on the fingers of one hand how often that'd happened in the last half millennia and have enough left over to hold a wine glass. The last time had been during what humanity called the First Contact war. An order, through the Asari, to end the war before the pinkskins were completely wiped out. No one had liked it, the creatures were largely dim witted and lacked spines, but even she thought carefully before risking the Broker's wrath.

After a few moments she said "Very well. If he doesn't pay however you will."

The ancient Krogan shrugged and she returned her focus to Shepard while biotically levitating a drink to her hand. "Saren is a dangerous and canny foe. Trust nothing he touches and expect all of it to be capable of killing you permanently. Elsa?"

Her bondmate handed the redhead a datadisk she'd prepared ahead of time. "Your eyes only, Gotta use that armor Crissy made you to access it. Anyone else tries, the case is made from polymerized micronix-7."

The woman nodded and stuck it in a pocket, then closed and secured it with a micro warp that melted the flap in place. Getting it out would now require power tools. Smart, if costly.

"Thanks. Any word from the others?"

"Don't worry, I'll forward their messages. Mostly they consist of congratulations and reminders to stop blowing yourself up dumbass."

"Uh, right. Thanks."

"Where is your bondmate?" She inquired as Elsa returned to her post.

"On the ship helping make sure no one gets into its systems."

"Ah. Wise of her. I understand the T'Soni Satelie is aboard your ship along with that annoyance Aethyta. Both represent a great deal of extremely unprofitable trouble. Inform them they're unwelcome here."

"Okay. Mind if we grab a few supplies on the way out?"

She waved her off and said "Do as you will. Just be quick about it and leave before you do anything I'll need to take notice of."

Once Shepard's not so little troupe was gone she looked to Elsa and said "Sit two Skiviit on them. Discretely. Your sister is powerful enough you or I would need to face her in direct combat. With the inclusion of Wrex the ensuing damage would be... annoying."

-^V^- -^V^-

Once they were out of the club Shepard looked to Wrex and said "Work up a gear list. Upgrades for the unit and where to get them. Ash, stick next to Wrex. Say nothing and don't look anyone you're not sure you can't kill in the eyes." Both nodded and she sniffed at the air then said "C'mon."

A couple blocks and a stop by a walk-up fast food place later she felt her wrist vibrate and lifted her arm. A retinal projector blinked on and she appraised the data as it scrolled along the inside of her eye. It was about like she'd figured and better yet he'd offered reasons, data to back them up, and the best local spots to get it all.

She checked her map of the station - one of the 'executive' models only available to Aria's top people or those few she called friend - then got them going.

As they walked Ash asked "Who're the players here?"

"Four majors, all ruled by Aria." Wrex grunted. "Blue Suns, Blood Pack, Eclipse, Talons. Blue Suns are mercs. Mostly humans though they'll take anyone able to pull a trigger and follow orders. Like mechs and tech tactics. Blood Pack are killers for hire. Mostly Krogan and Vorcha. Not real bright but they heal fast and hit hard. Huge on big guns and flamethrowers. Eclipse are Asari exiles. Mercs, some of the best, but feral. No rules other than get the job done no matter who or what's in the way. Justicars hate 'em. Talons... feh. Glorified cops. Smart, militaristic, mostly stick to making sure the others don't bother civilians."

"Kinda surprised people care about combatants and noncoms here. Always heard this place was a total free for all."

"Aria's not stupid." She interjected as they passed a shop selling holo vids from across the galaxy. "Omega's a civilization. Civilizations need people doing the day to day shit or they collapse. Endangering civvies falls under 'fucking with Aria'. Going after kids... that times a thousand."

She gave that a moment to sink in then asked "Your opinion of her?"

"Before or after meeting her skipper?"

"After."

"I think I'd rather light myself on fire and go skinny dipping in a wood chipper than piss her off ma'am." The brunette replied with a grin. "She plays it off mysterious and shit but I know a killer when I see one. I know smart when I see it too, and I won't claim to be an expert on biotics but I've never seen one do that drink-float thing."

Wrex chuckled. "Not many peg her that close that fast."

"I didn't survive 6 colony guard rotations by being blind or stupid." The woman replied. "Show up on a world where damn few people like the SA and you learn real fast to peg who's who and what's what the moment you see them or it."

"Smart. Whaddya think of the crew?"

Ash shot her a 'Should I?' look and she nodded. Once the gunny had permission the pastel pink armored woman said "Skipper's death on two feet but kinda childlike once the mission's done. Good heart though, and she does her best. Lawson... she's hard to figure. Her whole life's gone to hell in a handbasket though so I doubt even she knows who or what she is right now. Alenko's a military lifer on the ass end of his career. Nice guy, seems a solid officer so far, but I haven't worked with him enough to have much more of an opinion on him."

"Vakarian?"

"Smart, observant, damn good on a trigger, but I've seen his type before. Something's got him feeling cornered and he's railing at it. I'd keep an eye on him skipper. He won't be reliable until he sorts it out."

"Because he's a Turian?" She asked.

"One of my best friends in college was an Asari. Learned a lot from her, like what people are or how they look means jack. It's who they are and why you should be focused on."

"Wise. Me?" Wrex asked.

"Humans have a saying. Been there, done that. You're kinda the living incarnation of that whole concept crammed into a mini Godzilla with a big damn gun. Honor actually means something to you but smart means more. Borderline burnout case, not that anyone could blame you after all the crap you must've lived though."

"Gotta be the first time in my life anyone's called me 'mini' anything." the huge lizard grunted.

"Skipper, mind if we head back to that shop we passed? I wanna see if we can find a Godzilla movie."

She shrugged. It wasn't like they were on a schedule. "Sure."

It took a quick database search but they found a few. When she saw the promo art for one she could see why the human was thinking of Wrex as a mini Godzilla. The thought of a building-sized Wrex rampaging through the middle of some city spitting biotic fire had them all chuckling as they continued their shopping spree.

-^V^- -^V^-

Their first actual stop was an armor shop where she got Williams a new, non-shitty set of armor. She also used biometric scans to get an easily fitted set for Vakarian since running around in C-Sec blue might not go over well in a lot of places.

She also got everyone better guns, including a bulk order of Harrier rifles for the entire crew. The things needed some maintenance but with some work they'd all be good as new. A new sidearm for Vakarian, heavy pistol for Zorah, totally new loadout for Ash, battle rifle for Wrex since they needed him to have ranged weapons that could operate on ships or in delicate environments without causing breaches. She also loaded up on mods and then billed it all to a secret SSA black ops account no one kept records on other than to keep topped off.

She also loaded up on better food since no one liked the chow aboard the Normandy, which wasn't Navy standard. It was emergency rations normally only used for disaster relief or situations like this, where fast supplies were needed more than proper supplies. The old 'Better something than nothing' argument. Hover-pallets were procured and loaded to their limits before they finally started heading back to the Normandy.

-^V^- -^V^-

"Are you sure this won't cause any problems ma'am?"

She looked to Ash as they approached the Normandy's docking lounge with a half dozen sealed crates in tow. "Why would it?"

"Well, I'm not exactly upset about the upgrades but you're pretty much re-kitting the entire crew. I mean god, this armor cost as much as my mother's car." The brunette stated, motioning to the brand new set of Haene-Kaedar 'Janissary' heavy now covering her vitals.

"I don't like my people dying."

"Always nice to have a CO that gives a crap." The woman looked to Wrex and asked "Why didn't you go for a new set when she offered? I mean your armor's obviously serious stuff but it's gotta be older than I am."

"More than." He grunted, thumping along between them. "It gets damaged, I fix it. I need it updated, I update it. Only set of armor I'm after's my grandsire's and I don't know where it is." He grumbled, ominously adding "Yet."

She had an idea how much it had to mean to him so she asked "Want me to see what I can find out?"

"Urdnot business." He replied, his tone making clear that it was a family matter, thanks for offering to help, now back off.

Ash, seeming to pick up on the fact it was a volatile topic said "I know what you mean. My grandfather had a pistol, dated back to world war two, that disappeared when he was discharged. We've been looking for it ever since but you know how it goes. No one's seen anything, no one's heard anything, no one knows anything."

His only reply was a neutral grunt.

As they approached the hatch, the squad of marines guarding it waved for them to stop. They did, and she waited while they secured everything before leading her group inside. "Ash, get this all down to engineering, that suit included."

The gunny looked crestfallen. "I can't keep it then?"

"Once I get done modding it, yes."

"Oh! Okay. I'm on it then. Ma'am."

She nodded as she was saluted, then looked to Wrex and said "Go. 6 hours and we're outta here, with or without you."

The massive lizard eyed her warily for a moment, then nodded and left. Alenko, watching, walked over once the Krogan was gone and asked "Ma'am?"

"He's pissed off. Needs to fight something to calm down."

"What pissed him off?"

"Not our business. Where's Pressley?"

"Officer's mess ma'am."

"Thanks."

She left and headed to the bridge, Alenko staying behind to help guard the hatch. Once there she walked over to the command podium and checked a few displays, then typed in a few commands and a couple notices. Her duties sorted out for the moment she headed to the gym to get in her daily workout.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda walked into the ship's gym for her daily regime and frowned when she saw Shepard off in a corner on a grav-mill with what looked to be 20 kilo barbells in her hands. From what she could see the woman was going as fast as most people could run and she didn't even look like she was straining. More like she was bored, though from her sense of the woman she seemed oddly... mellow.

"Shepard." She said by way of greeting as she headed over to the grav mill next to the redhead.

"Miri."

She picked up a couple barbells herself, 10 kilo ones, and set the treadmill to 1.5 G's and got going at a quick jog. Ten minutes of silent running later she asked "Any suggestions on the gunship?"

"Active stealth, missiles in internal bays, one high powered slow firing canon for on-site arty, a smaller faster one for support, full virt cockpit, spaceworthy for short durations. Thermal masking... no idea."

"Why a virtual cockpit?"

"Better visibility with functional depth perception."

She could see how that'd be useful and added it to the list of features she was planning on integrating. Shepard's idea on weapons were good also, though missiles were likely a bad idea. Smartbombs however were a possibility.

"Not gonna take notes?" She would've thought Shepard was being mocking except for the fact Shepard didn't mock people and her tone was pure curiosity.

"Eidetic memory."

"Oh. Hellion tried to do that but most of those who had it went insane. Only a handful kept it together. The rest of us just have better than average retention."

She was silent a minute, then asked "You aren't going to pester me for details?"

"Your life, your business unless you decide otherwise."

She scowled and Shepard asked "Did I say something wrong?"

After a moment she settled and said "No. I'm just so used to people lying to me and having ulterior motives for everything that dealing with you is... odd. Not in a bad way," She added "I simply have never dealt with an actually honest person before. Especially one that protects me without expecting so much as a thank you."

Shepard looked confused. "Aren't bondmates supposed to protect each other?"

She looked at the woman and shook her head with an amused chuckle. "In theory yes, but you're the first person I've met that boggled at the thought someone might not think that."

"Most people are ignorant self centered backstabbing idiots."

She laughed and remarked "On that we agree."

-^V^- -^V^-

Once again back in the conference room with everyone she said "Okay, I looked over the data from Aria and we've got a few targets to check out."

Bishop interjected "Please copy that data to the AIS. Meaning no offense but you're not a trained intelligence analyst."

"I can't. The data's only accessible via my suit and will blow up if someone tampers with it. Besides." She continued, "You people destroyed most of what Miri got grandstanding. I'm not risking our only surviving leads."

"They did bloody WHAT?!"

"The AIS decided to disobey orders and tried to analyze it themselves. The data was wiped and we now have nothing."

"Rather convenient." Miri remarked acidly. "For Saren and Benezia."

"Yes, it is. Which is why the Spectres are investigating the matter." Nihlus added. "But that's irrelevant to the current topic. What did Aria give us Shepard."

"Five targets. One, a colony that went dark with no explanation. It wasn't pirates or raiders according to her and command isn't investigating."

"Do you think it's related?" He inquired.

"My gut says yes."

"Your intestines talk to you?"

"Slang term for instincts Spectre." Alenko explained.

The Turian blinked, then nodded. "Ah."

Once they were done she continued. "Next is Noveria. Aria confirms there's something up with Binary Helix."

Vakarian spoke up. "I suggest we head to Noveria. A lot of our leads are pointing there and while the colony has your fringe twitching Noveria has actual evidence pointing us at it."

"Agreed." Miri added. "I'm not one to ignore my instincts but everything we have says Noveria should get looked at hard and soon."

Everyone agreed on that and she looked to Bishop. "Arrange a brief on Noveria please."

He nodded and she looked to Joker, who said "Figure we can get there about 4 AM ship's time tomorrow if we haul ass. Noon if we cruise."

"Make it noon." She frowned, then said "I want everyone ready to go when we get there. Alenko, the moment we're in-system set the marines on watch. No one in, no one out, without my permission. Bishop, EWar, same. Also, see if you can setup an intro."

"While I'm not normally one to tout my connections Shepard," Miri interjected, "we might be well advised to route introductions through the Broker. He would have more influence on Noveria than the SA or Citadel would, especially considering a large reason Noveria exists was to get away from both the SA and Citadel authority."

She blinked, then nodded. "Good plan. See what you can do please. Ideas, suggestions?"

Dr. T'Soni said "You may wish to dress in civilian clothes Shepard, and your initial requests made as a huntress with the threat of more... combative... measures held in reserve."

She blinked and Miri explained "Look nice, play nice, and let your Spectre authority lurk silently in the background like, well, Wrex."

The huge Krogan grinned. Everyone else chuckled, but she simply nodded as what her bondmate said put things into perspective. "I'll see what I can do." She frowned as that set off a few more ideas, then said "Miri, Dr. T'Soni, Aethyta, Ash. We all go in civvies with light weapons and our heavy stuff in secured duffels that can be delivered by drone or heavy squad."

"I, ah, don't really have any fancy clothes with me ma'am. They kinda blew up with the Wildfire." Ash pointed out a bit sheepishly.

"I may be able to help with that." Chambers offered. "Assuming Shepard, you don't mind if I cannibalize some of your clothes. I studied fashion design and tailoring so it's either that or we stop somewhere along the way."

People regarded the woman askance who asked "Do you people have any idea how expensive nice clothes are? A lot of what I do normally involves formal occasions like gala and diplomatic functions. I don't get an expense account so I either have to drop 20K on a new dress or make one myself for 2K. I dunno about you folks but I hope to retire with more than lint in my pockets thank you very much."

"I suddenly have the urge to learn to sew." Ash deadpanned, earning a lot of chuckles.

She managed a fast smile - even she'd thought that was kinda funny - then she looked to Joker who said "No joy. Everything between here and there's blue collar shit. Refueling stations, discharge stations, couple mines, and one class-3 colony. We'd need to detour to go shopping. Either that or buy something over the extranet and schedule a pickup."

"Nice thought but we'd need a measuring tape to do the measurements." Chambers interjected, shaking her head. "I'm not looking forward to using a simple needle and thread to make an entire outfit but... "

He grinned and interjected "When I was on leave and Alyssa called me for our first date I literally had nothing nice to wear. Problem was I needed to be in a tailored suit in six hours or I was S.O.L."

Tali, obviously confused, asked "You were a solar system?"

Joker laughed. "When S.O.L. is used like that it means 'shit outta luck'. In other words, nothing good's gonna be happening anytime soon. Anyways, I knew a lady on the ship I was on, the armorer ironically enough, and she showed me that most military omni's have a detailed tailoring setup so people in the field can be quickly fitted for replacement armor. I stripped to my boxers, she scanned me, and 7 hours later I'm living the life minus a big damn chunk of my savings. I'll show you how to access it after this."

"Not gonna try and scan me yourself SFO?" Ash asked with a smirk.

"Thanks, but I like living gunny."

She wasn't sure why people laughed at that but she gave them all a moment before saying "Chambers, scan Ash then work on one new, complete outfit. Bill it to the ship's account and setup a pickup point along our route. Anything else?"

No one spoke up and she said "Specific duty assignments via TTL pending soonest. Let's get to work people. Dismissed."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Notes and Addendums!

ComOps - Computer Operations. Hacking, net security, and digital analysis

SAC - Systems Alliance Command

CZ - Crisis Zone. Somewhere things are either volatile or bad but not outright combat

XO - eXecutive Officer, the ship's second in command.

Daft - British slang for insane

Git - British slang for Idiot or jackass

PT - Physical Training, in other words, general fitness and athletics. When used in a medical manner it means Physical Therapy)

Hot Standby - Armed, armored, and ready to provide backup or attack a target at a moment's notice

On the pointy end - Military slang for being alert for trouble and ready to fight

Rachit Prowler - A small, pretty, fast, but tough and vicious land based predator on Thessia. The rough Earth equivalent would be wolverines

Pinkskin - Slang for humans. Not hugely insulting but not friendly either.

Skiviit - Aria's peronal agents, they specialize in stealth and sudden overwhelming violence

The Eclipse - In game they really didn't make much sense. Each one's a murderer, but they're allowed to take legit merc jobs? They're guilty and proud of committing every crime there is, but the Justicars don't give a shit? They're widespread enough you can run into the all over the galaxy despite all that? And they're not all complete badasses considering how old and ruthless they are? Nope, so in my story they're criminals and proud of it. They'll do anything to anyone at a moment's notice, especially if they're paid to do it, and no one in their right mind trusts them farther than Barla Von could throw Wrex. Most are ex huntresses or Commando's, and they also engage in non resource intensive crimes. Small scale drug labs making exotic chems, smuggling, assassination, blackmail, extortion, organlegging, and they're one of the biggest organizations out there when it comes to acquiring and selling Burnware. They prefer precise, high damage weapons and are all experts in biotics and electronics warfare. To get in you need to prove yourself, and once in you never get out. There are No ex-eclipse members.


	26. Chapter 26 - Murderous Greetings

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The Fanfic-net, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, Fanfic-net _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don't know why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

Preface!

This chapter is going to be very talky. This will be the first time we see Liara doing her thing and I have yet to hear anyone describe royalty talking to corporate power players as terse lol. That said, people won't be talking simply to talk. Verbal fencing may _seem_ polite on the surface but it's anything but friendly the moment you look past it.

Oh, and if you thought I was violating canon before, well, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Heh heh heh.

CH - 26

"Unidentified vessel. This is Noveria Space Command. Please flash ident and state purpose of visit."

Shepard, dressed in her civvies and standing in a conference room redecorated to look a bit more formal, said "Noveria SC, this is Huntress Shepard of the Dark House, commanding officer, SSV Normandy, carrying Satelie Liara T'Soni and party. Purpose of visit is corporate. Flashing ident now."

On the command display behind the camera that'd been set up the comm's officer did so and sensors promptly detected a high powered sensor ping projected straight at them. It was about what they'd expected so she wasn't surprised. The ship was designed to confuse exactly that kind of scan in case it was deployed in Salarian space.

A few seconds later the NSC officer said "Ident confirmed Normandy. Routing you to docking bay 14. Please keep all weapons and shielding cold. Violating safety and security procedures will be treated as aggressive acts and responded to accordingly. Handing you off to flight control now. NSC out."

The call ended and the monitors blinked off. She nodded and said used her omni to call the bridge. "Shepard to con. Status?"

Pressley's voice responded instantly. "Joker's on the horn with flight control now. According to the course data I'm seeing I'd give us an ETA of 40 minutes."

She frowned. "Reason for delay?"

"Traffic laws ma'am. It's illegal to do a ballistic atmo entry. Probably concerns over the plasma field interfering with security scans."

"Confirmed. On my way."

"Aye ma'am."

She hung up and headed that way, grabbing her shoes as she left the room. Spike heeled strappy things that left her walking sort-of but not really on her tip toes. Why people had such a fixation on the damn things she didn't know and didn't want to know.

Thankfully the rest of her outfit wasn't as ridiculous. A multilayered black with white accents ankle length dress with weird patterns in the fabric slit up the side for easy movement, a white leotard and black leggings under that, and since people had a problem with her hairstyle, a weird bow-clip thing to keep her hair in a ponytail. Silver jewelry that wasn't ridiculously glittery, but it had more than a few 'optional extras under the hood' as Ash had put it. Shields, concealed weapons holsters, hidden pockets for small bits of gear, plus an integrated milspec omni done up to look fancy.

Miri, on seeing it, had declared it was 'A bit gothic, understated, but eminently functional.' Apparently that meant it was okay for someone of her societal status to wear. All she cared about was that it didn't scream 'look at me!' or 'Fuck me!' like normal Asari clothes did.

Chambers had pretty much taken it upon herself to get everyone 'kitted up for the prom' as she'd put it. For some reason that'd turned into some kind of social thing and there'd been as much talking as there'd been work. Annoyingly, her reticence to stand there being scanned and measured while surrounded by chattering crewmembers that apparently dropped about 30 IQ points the moment fancy clothes got involved also somehow qualified as 'cute'.

Humans made no sense.

At all.

She ignored the shocked and brainfried looks she got as she headed to the bridge, instead heading over to the command podium for a sitrep. "Any signs the Noverians are pulling something?" She asked LC Pressley.

"No ma'am." Her XO replied in his trademark 'College boy' southern accent as he put it. "No anomalies, no unidentified contacts, no active pings from inappropriate sources. Comms're clear and DSS're mode-S. We've got two corvettes'n a cruiser pacing us in a reverse arrowhead formation with all sensors active. They won't be gettin' much of use though. The active visual bafflers and scan masks jamming systems the AIS came up with'll make damn sure'a that. Probably pissing 'em off to no end too."

"Ship's status?" She inquired as she eyed the overall tac plot.

"Green across the board ma'am. The marines're also ready for guard detail and happy as pigs in slop about the new guns. The backup specialist unit's finalizing preparations for high speed deployment either on foot're in the gunship. The field team's already at the airlock and ready to deploy the moment we confirm dock and lock."

"Weapons?"

"One odin, one medusa in the tubes ready for spin'n launch. Main battery capacitors are charged'n ready for immediate tasking. Shields're up and agent Bishop's handling the counter-surveillance suite personally."

"Good. Any suggestions?"

"I'd also set active monitoring for all hull access points in case someone tries to get in through a hatch. Also, if you can, refuse resupply. We're solid on supplies and I've known people who lost ships to spiked fuel. Lastly, I'd warn the weapons officer to prep for possible full crew armament in case we're attacked. I doubt the Noverians would be that stupid but I can't say no one else would."

"Skip the last. If someone can get past two teams of marines and the ship's interior turret defenses we've lost the Normandy anyways."

"Good point ma'am." He replied with a smile that said she'd passed another test. She wasn't sure what, but she was starting to suspect it had something to do with knowing when not to do things.

"You have the con XO. Carry on."

"Aye ma'am."

She nodded once then headed to the airlock in the ship's neck. The marines were already in place and she, deciding to take a wild stab at being a 'Good' commander - not just a demanding one even if it was to keep them from dying - said "I get back here without any uninvited guests on my boat and you all get 12 hours liberty next time we hit the citadel."

"HooAH ma'am!"

The troops now motivated and happy she walked over to the airlock and asked "Status?"

"Good to go ma'am." Ash replied with a grin. "Looking forward to showing the other half a Williams can play in the majors."

"I am prepared." Dr. T'Soni, dressed in a gown she figured was probably worth a noticeable portion of the ship's total price tag added resolutely.

Next to her daughter Aethyta, dressed nearly as nicely, said "Ready."

Miri, wearing a black silk and lace 'formal gown' that covered her from her neck to her ankles and went for class as opposed to sex appeal - though she figured it probably had that too - smiled and said "I'm ready as well though I suggest you stop scowling at everyone. Remember, these aren't thugs. They're people of means and power. You need to impress them, not terrify them."

She grimaced then donned her 'Be nice to flag rank officers' look.

The brunette sighed and said "Whenever you need to play nice with others, pretend they're Colonel Anderson carrying bags of candy with your name on them."

Confused, she asked "Why?"

"Two reasons. First, you respect him. Second, you like people who offer you candy correct?"

"Uh, usually?" She replied cautiously.

"So if you pretend people will give you bags of it if you smile and act in a civilized manner you'd be inclined to be nice to them correct?"

"Um, I think so?"

"Then by doing what I suggest you can trick yourself into doing what you need to in order to accomplish the mission. Also, by not terrifying people into attacking us out of fear you reduce the chances I'll wind up in a bloody morgue."

That clicked things together in a way that made sense, sort of, so she nodded and said "Got it."

"Good thing my momma didn't try that on me when I was growing up." Ash remarked with a grin. "The amount of PT I'd have needed to do to keep my figure would've qualified as a war crime."

-^V^- -^V^-

Administration's executive (Assistant) Gianna Parasini smiled and said "Welcome to Noveria Satelie T'Soni Liara and party. It's an honor to host the successor to a member of the hundred queens."

"Thank you, your welcome does you credit administrator Parasini." Dr. T'Soni replied with a matching smile that quickly faded. "Your superior I regret to say, less so."

"Director Anoleis regrets he was unable to greet you in person Satelie T'Soni. He was occupied by matters he couldn't ignore even for Asari royalty. I hope you can understand and forgive his dedication to his duty."

Liara smiled and said "One can never fault a work ethic. I hope you can arrange a meeting with him expeditiously. I need to discuss with him the fate of Binary Helix."

"The fate of Binary Helix highness?"

The smile faded to one of pained sadness. "Thanks to the machinations of a former Spectre, now master criminal and mass murderer, my bearer Benezia has gone insane. Her authority thus no longer exists outside this star system. I am therefore here to see her actions don't destroy one of my family's more substantial financial interests."

"I see. If I may, I don't recognize your associates. May I be introduced?"

"Of course. This," The young Asari said motioning behind and to the right, "is my sire. Vasir Aethyta, Satelie of the Dark House and a warrior of no small renown. To my left is Huntress Shepard of the Dark house, also known as the Butcher of Torfan. To her right is her bondmate, Dr. Miranda Lawson, a highly experienced multidisciplinary security asset. Behind them is operative Williams of the Systems Alliance who, among her other accomplishments, was instrumental in the salvation of a garden world colony."

Ash felt herself preening a bit at that. Sure half of it was bullshit, but half of it wasn't and she had literal royalty telling corporate powerhouses a Williams was serious business. If she died then and there she'd have gone to heaven with a ol' big grin on her face.

"I'm honored to meet personages of such note."

Now she'd gone from colony grunt to 'Personage of note'? If this kept up she might just end the Williams curse.

"I apologize for my urgency and focus administrator Parasini, but every moment's delay costs Binary helix - and thus Noveria - a great deal of money."

"I'll make the arrangements immediately highness. Captain Matsuo, please escort them to Platinum Sky and see they're afforded every accommodation."

"Yes ma'am. Highness, if you would please?"

"I will, thank you."

They followed the local head cop by a security checkpoint they just walked past as if it didn't exist, then out into a massive atrium done up to look 'Desert tropical' with expensive sculptures scattered around and paintings she figured were worth more than the gunship, each, in displays along the walls.

Idly, she figured if they sold everything in this one room they could get Eden Prime back up to spec and have enough left over to throw one hell of a block party.

She had to fight the urge to adjust the gun concealed at the small of her back. She wasn't used to concealed carry, this was actually her first time doing it, but she had to admit she liked how it worked. Instead of sticking a holster between her legs it 'built out' the back enough to hide a compact pistol and personal shield generator. Better yet the padding to make that happen made her ass look smaller. She liked having some flank padding as much as the next gal but she worked hard to keep her butt bulge under control. Wearing a skin tight minidress with a fancy corset pulling her sides in would've given her a serious case of 'junk in the trunk' as her grampa used to put it. Made breathing a pain but considering the perks she could cope and smile doing it.

What didn't have her smiling was the T'Soni kid. She didn't act like other Asari. Not that she'd run into royalty before but something about the lady was off. Nothing overt, not even anything she could point to specifically but like she'd told Wrex and the skipper, she hadn't survived 6 tours as a colony guard noncom by relying on luck.

-^V^- -^V^-

Liara looked around as she and the unit were shown to a private complex in an admittedly nice restaurant. The main room was surprisingly large, opulently appointed, and the far wall was one massive aquarium. There were doors to each side that likely led to a dining room, private lounge, and who knew what else. She'd seen places such as this have anything from private pools to their own libraries, complete with librarians.

"Would you like refreshments highness?" the servant standing in the middle of the room asked, bowing surprisingly well for a Turian.

"A glass of Sivari." She stated off-handedly. Other than to serve her party's needs as required, the man was utterly irrelevant unless he was a spy or an assassin. Her instincts, honed by decades of being accosted by both, said he was neither. Not that she'd trust the man of course. He might be an unwitting dupe or an excellent actor.

She heard her sire say "I'm good."

The human, Miranda, requested in that odd accent of hers "A martini please. Dry. SubMix, not stirred."

Shepard, unsurprisingly, simply asked for a still-sealed bottle of flavored nutri-water. She'd been tempted to do so herself but appearances, as ever, needed to be maintained. A tiresome chore but unfortunately a necessary one.

The group she was in was... unique to put it mildly. A broken soul, a guilty soul, a chaotic soul, and a hopeful soul. Two were mass murderers. The third one of the broker's most capable agents. The last seemed little more than a soldier at first glance but she wasn't fooled. The human was deceptively smart, skilled, observant, and didn't trust her at all. A wise attitude to be sure but it marked her as dangerous.

Nearly an hour later the human woman in the bright Pink dress showed up and said "I deeply apologize for the delay highness. Director Anoleis will see you now."

She used a warp field on the glass she'd been drinking from after she set it on the proffered tray. The whisper of blue energy scoured it clear of anything useable against her while the other's drinks joined it. Doing so earned her a few odd looks but she ignored them.

While it seemed overdone they were on a world full of people whose lives revolved around science and power. She didn't think it wise to leave traces of her genetics, even in part, for some enterprising soul to cart off to a lab. All it would take to ruin her after that would be for someone to culture it, employ a professional to do something heinous, and have them leave it behind as evidence. It was a technique for destroying one's enemies using one's enemies that she was intimately familiar with.

It was, after all, a trick she'd stolen from the STG.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard followed Dr. T'Soni into the expansive office and then stepped to the side, assuming a guard position next to the door as she appraised the room. Ash copied the move on the other side and she didn't miss the fact Miri took up a position that looked random, but if you knew what to look for was anything but. If their host so much as twitched she Miri and Ash would have him in a triangulated crossfire.

"Satelie T'Soni, my apologies for my delay in receiving you. I was engaged in matters affecting several local corporations. Ah, please forgive my manners. How are you and your party this day? Well I hope?"

Shepard kept an eye on the man as Dr. T'Soni shook his hand while saying "We are, thank you."

"Would you like something to drink?" he inquired.

"No, thank you."

"I thought best to ask. Your bearer seems fond of partaking during matters of import. Please." He asked, motioning to a chair.

Shepard made a mental note of that. Benezia wasn't a heavy drinker according to Aethyta. If she was now that meant she was probably trying to drown her emotions in booze. It wasn't valuable intel at the moment but it was proof Benezia wasn't doing all of this of her own free will. If she had been then she wouldn't feel the need to get shitfaced drunk any time she needed to make a decision.

Dr. T'Soni sat where he'd indicated and he took his own seat. "Terrible, the attack on Eden Prime." He stated. "There has been talk among the more image-conscious to offer aid packages to the survivors. Discounted supplies, lowered loan rates, that sort of thing."

"Their motives aside that would be very civic minded of them." Dr. T'Soni noted. "Pertaining more towards my intent in being here however you're aware the Geth were involved, yes?"

"I am, and the interest that's sparked in companies engaged with military application robotics is unprecedented. Their people are already looking into trying to interview any surviving military personnel. For appropriate compensation as consultants of course."

Ash, next to her, stiffened and shot her a warning look that was as much fear as it was aggression. She shook her head slightly and slowly, once, to let the woman know that shit wasn't happening on her watch. She sensed approval from Miri who smiled, just a small twist of the lips, at her in the wall-length mirror behind the gecko.

Thankfully the good doctor deflected things instantly. "I'd imagine they would be... disinterested in recalling such events for any amount of money. While people of means may be able to sleep at night after such events those with less... robust finances can't afford the drugs and treatments needed to do so. Nor, I suspect, would they be inclined to if they did. Military folk do tend to revere their wounds to both body and mind. Marks of memory, I suppose."

"Possibly, though xenopsychology isn't my field. In any case, you mentioned something about the fate of Binary Helix?"

"Unfortunately, yes. You see as the majority shareholder is my bearer - who is currently wanted on capital charges across the galaxy - there is... talk... among certain parties of ordering a freeze on all of its assets. Some even advocate seizing said assets as compensation for Eden Prime."

"Preposterous! Binary Helix is a Noverian company! They have no authority here!"

"Here no, but approximately 90% of its assets aren't located here. Due to intercorporate and Citadel law B.H. properties are technically Asari territory as it's an Asari company. Much like diplomatic facilities as I understand it. Therefore, being Asari territory, that places them within the jurisdiction of the Justicars whom I've already contacted regarding the possibility of engaging in a full inquisition. They would, I'm afraid, likely get the full support of the Asari Republic in such matters. Possibly even the Citadel as a whole."

She suppressed a feral smile as the not-so-good doctor leaned back in her seat and donned a sad expression full of pained regret.

Ash, next to her, muttered "Fuckin-A." so quietly most people wouldn't have heard it and while Miri's expression in the mirror didn't change, her sense of her bondmate whispered a dozen flavors of disapproval.

She had to suppress another feral grin as the Salarian, seeing that tact wouldn't get him anywhere, went for the moral outrage and money angle. Probably a good bet with a bunch of overstuffed civvies but with them? Not so much.

"You must realize, jurisdictional issues aside, such an attack would kill thousands of sentients, most of them innocent. The ensuing blow to the company's image would be of catastrophic proportions."

She almost winced then the Asari sprang her trap. Eyes narrowing, voice turning icy, Dr. T'Soni said "It wouldn't just kill thousands Director Anoleis. It would kill hundreds of thousands. It would stagger any markets Binary Helix is even peripherally involved with. Topple networks of smaller companies. Trigger conflicts over communal resources and informational interests. Brush wars, gouts of criminal activity, and localized economic depressions are all strong possibilities as well. Or, we can be reasonable about this. I'd certainly like to."

"Would you?" Dr. T'Soni asked with a murderous, cold smirk.

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

DSS - Digital Security Systems, or the soft/hardware used to keep hackers from accessing the ship's systems.

SubMix - Instead of shaking or stirring a drink it's essentially stuck in a microwave-style container but instead of being irradiated, it's bombarded by subwoofers while being levitated and spun by magnets. The lack of interference, along with the intensity of the vibrations, which hit the entire container on a near-molecular level, results in a perfectly even mix through the entire drink and thus a smoother taste.

Shepard's new 'fancy' outfit

It is, essentially, a floor-length dress version of 2B's outfit from Neir Automata with more decoration, more class, and a lot of hidden extras. It's made of quadruple-thick armor cloth that looks like silk and moves like cotton since Shepard felt naked when the clothing weights got to be too light and free moving. It of course lacks the blindfold and hair clip, but she does now have jewelry and hair clips for her ponytails made of the same stuff as her jewelry. It thus looks nice, satisfies her need for modesty and non super sex appeal, while remaining sexy in a way Shepard doesn't really get and looking classy enough people of means and power just figure it's unique, not insulting.


	27. Chapter 27 - Naked preparations for War

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on, but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The site, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, the site _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don't know why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

CH - 27

Shepard led the group out of the room, administrator Anoleis staying behind frantically making the calls needed to prevent the Asari equivalent of a holy war being declared on one of his primary backers.

Once they were out and into the main concourse Aethyta remarked "Well _that_ was nasty."

"I do not have the luxury, in time or indulgence, for nice." Liara replied. "My methodologies aside we have secured tentative permission to head to our goal."

"I wouldn't bet on that being anytime soon highness." Ash interjected. "Not with that storm."

"Noveria's main source of transport is an extensive underground monorail system." Miri explained. "Since it's a metropolitan-styled network buried roughly half a kilometer underground the storm is simply an annoyance. In any case, Anoleis indicated it will be at least 6 hours until he can arrange the data access to BH's main systems we require. I suggest we head somewhere and minimize our profile to let tempers on all sides cool. Hotels, the higher end luxury sorts, also have some of the best security there is and a severe distaste for violating it for any reason. That would add another layer of protection to what we already have and if we were to monitor their systems, provide a warning if someone tries to bugger it."

Since it sounded like her bondmate had been to the planet before she said "Good plan. Suggestions?"

"The Lagoon. It's arguably the most posh hotel on-planet and the higher end suites make Platinum Sky look like an outhouse. I believe King Vesper stayed there once when he needed to visit Noveria on business."

She looked to Liara, who shrugged. "I have no objection and Ms. Lawson is correct regarding high end hotel security systems. They frequently outclass some top secret military facilities."

"Miri, Dr. T'Soni, see what you can do. Everyone else, guard detail."

An hour later they were shown into a 'Suite' that was bigger than a lot of estates she'd been to. Usually to blow up or kill a target in said estate, but still. It was more than a dozen rooms with everything from bedrooms to a 'tropical' lounge complete with it's own pool and cabana bar.

Once it'd been secured she said "3-shift guard rotations. Everyone stays armed at all times and checks in every 30 minutes. Omni's on life signs monitor with screamer alerts. I've got first shift."

"I'll take late shift." Ash stated.

"Looks like I've got mid then." Aethyta said. "I dunno about the rest of you but I'm heading for the pool. This place is a bit too dry for my tastes."

"I also will make my way there." Dr. T'Soni added.

"Me too." Miri said. "There's little else to do at the moment and this air is so dry I can practically feel my skin cracking."

"I'm headed to bed so I can be fresh for my shift. Ma'am. Ladies. Highness." Ash nodded to them each then walked off.

"Fresh for her shift?" the archaeologist inquired.

"She's gonna get some down time so she can be up and focused when the rest of us are asleep." Aethyta explained.

"Ah."

Everything arranged she started a slow patrol of the complex, going room to room in an irregular pattern with one hand on her sidearm and the other holding up her omni where she could see both it and her surroundings at the same time. She heard the pool crowd hit the water and the muted sounds of conversation start up a minute later.

About 15 minutes later she walked into the lagoon room and saw both Dr. T'Soni and Aethyta were swimming naked. Not unusual, Asari didn't like wearing clothes while in the water so she wasn't thrown by it. Then she turned right to start her walkaround and froze.

The two Asari weren't the only naked bipeds in the room.

Miri, looking annoyed, asked "Yes?"

"Uh, right. Room secure, moving on."

She rotated in place, parade-perfect, and marched out of the room feeling like someone had squeezed all the blood in her body into her skull like a tube of toothpaste.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda frowned as Shepard all but ran out of the room, her entire head the color of a tomato. The bond was 50% shock, 50% fear, and bloody near qualified as panic. This from a woman she'd seen annihilate Geth with her bare hands and mouth off at a council member. Surprisingly bitingly, in fact.

She turned and looked to Aethyta, who was chuckling. "What?"

"Your bondmate just saw you bare ass naked."

"Yes, so?" She asked curtly while heading to the bar in a corner of the room to see if it had any sports or energy drinks.

"Uh, hormones?"

"Shepard is incapable of lust." She countered. "Even if she were it's not what she felt or is feeling now."

"Look, I know we've got a shit history and 100% of it's my fault but listen. First time I saw Nezzie naked I was too _terrified_ to be horny. All I could think was 'Oh goddess, oh goddess, oh goddess.' and I damn near bolted. A lot like she just did."

She frowned. Loathe as she was to admit it, it did make a certain level of sense.

"The kid might claim she can't feel lust. Might even be true, but that link you've got... anything _you_ can feel, _she_ can too. Problem is until now she's had to literally delete entire sections of her emotional range just to maintain what passes as her sanity. Now she can't do that."

The bloody bond was _that_ influential? Just guddamn wonderful. If she was affecting Shepard to that kind of degree, how much was Shepard affecting her?

As if reading her thoughts the elder Asari said "You likely won't get much from her. You _know_ who and what you are. Might not _like_ it, but you know. For her though, think of how a computer acts when you install a bunch of new modules but none of the software."

"The system crashes. Your point?"

"Did Shepard look real functional to you just now? She _feel_ functional?"

"No." She groused. "Does this mean she's going to be trying to sleep with me now?"

"With her issues? I doubt it. Just don't expect her to handle you naked, or the thought of you naked, without her getting her brains scrambled. Upside is she might start giving a shit about her looks and making you _happy_ , not just keeping you alive."

"Just bloody brilliant." She muttered.

"Hey, you wanted her to get her head outta her ass. Figuring out how to deal with you like a normal person would's part of that."

"Considering how 'normal' people deal with me I'd likely be better off with her playing the puppy." She retorted acidly.

"Maybe, but at least you know she won't ever lie to you and that she's about as selfish as a Vorcha is smart. Shit might be clumsy and maybe a bit stupid at the moment but things could be a lot worse."

"Ms. Lawson," Dr. T'Soni interjected, "while I won't claim to know either you or Shepard I can say with certainty this. However your bond came to be and however dysfunctional _she_ is, she is handling the situation better than _you_. You may wish to ponder that."

-^V^- -^V^-

"Thank you Director Anoleis. If it isn't a problem I and my team will stay where we are to do the digital part of our investigation."

On the wall screen display the Salarian's relief was obvious. "That would be best for us all I believe."

"Excellent. I suggest you remind anyone that may wish to access the datastream that they'll be interfering in a Spectre investigation led by _the Butcher of Torfan_."

He paled and nodded frenetically. "I'll be sure to warn people to be on their best behavior highness."

"Perfect, thank you. I hope the rest of your day is without issue director."

She suffered through his farewell platitudes then looked to Ms. Lawson, who said "I'll get the link up and secured. Excuse me."

She nodded and Shepard, next to where the black-haired woman had been, asked "Problem?"

"Ms. Lawson was attempting to blame the issues of your relationship entirely on you. I pointed something out that, in part, repudiates that belief."

"Oh."

"Quite. If you'll excuse me I have a great deal of work to do."

"Sure. Thanks."

She nodded and left the room, heading to her own to get to work. Interestingly, information sorting was a lot like archaeology. A little piece of something innocuous here, a sliver of something that didn't quite fit over there, analysis, mapping, presupposition, theorycrafting, and then the brutal application of scientific theory to pull patterns and useful 'artifacts' out of seeming chaos.

Then there was the power.

If you knew something someone else didn't they likely would pay for it. The less common or more difficult to acquire that information was the more they would be willing to offer for it. Money, favors, more information, all of it meant power. Power meant not only not being abused by those that had tormented her her entire life any more, but the chance to finally make those involved _pay_.

It was a game she'd played her entire life. She'd needed to simply to survive but here and now she was discovering she could do more than _survive_ , she could make her dreams come true.

All she needed was to be methodical, creative, smart, astute, mercantile, and ruthless.

Unfortunately for her enemies, she mused with a mental sneer, she was.

-^V^- -^V^-

Three days later Shepard watched as Liara briefed them all on her findings.

"According to the intel group's analysis Binary Helix is active on Noveria in form only. Most of its operations have been either shut down or moved to unnamed offworld facilties. The only facilities of note remaining on-planet are the official corporate headquarters, Research Facility 19, and Peak 15. Of those only the headquarters building is still fully staffed. RF 19 is down to roughly half staff and is largely working on optimizing genetics augmentation programs for various galactic governmental interests. Of note is one for a black operations unit specializing in recon-in-force operations that would be compatible with Ms. Williams pre-existing augments. If you wish Ms. Williams, I can make arrangements to see you receive those upgrades."

She looked to the side and the eurspanic woman grinned. "That'd be a hell yes highness."

The asari nodded then said "Peak 15 is of note. Ostensibly a simple power generation facility, it's located in a remote location noted for frequent severe storms, impassible terrain, and weak coverage by the local defense network. It's also received large shipments of sealed supply containers with hazardous material warnings that indicate Peak 15 is a genetics research facility much like the one Ms. Lawson engaged. However, their defenses are an order of magnitude more intensive and according to fragmentary data retrieved from what was left of the drives the AIS destroyed, seem intended to keep whatever they're working on there from leaving."

Her instincts _growled_ and she said "Peak 15."

"Shepard?"

She looked to Miri, then said "I get gut feelings sometimes. It's why we hit Therum hard and fast instead of following S.O.P."

"You're getting another such feeling?" Liara inquired.

"Bigtime. When we head there we bring everyone and we go loaded for Maw. Dr. T'Soni, Ash's recovery time?"

"Two to five weeks, depending on responses."

"Then we do that after. Whatever's there, we need to get to it fast. Miri, contact local command for transport. Wrex, see if you can contact local Broker assets. Fill them in, see if you can arrange support. Go heavy on medical supplies, omni gel, and ammo. Aethya, same. Ash, get everyone's gear modded to spec ASAP. Draft who you need to to help, start with Tali, Garrus, and Nihlus."

"What're you gonna do kid?" Wrex asked.

"Call for backup."

-^V^- -^V^-

Jack frowned as a priority message from Ms. Chambers beeped for his attention. He checked the code then opened the message. It was simple text buried in a 'selfie' pic that was limited to 250 characters, but that didn't make it useless. Far from it, you simply needed to phrase things in a 'Less is more' manner.

-Get all operations off Noveria immediate. Attacking target 2 facility, B.H. Peak 15, Red has extremely bad feeling-

He frowned and checked what they had on the place. Ever since Benezia's involvement had become known he'd had his people copying every bit of data even remotely related to the woman to isolated servers for analysis, so about the only thing he _didn't_ lack was masses of data. The trick, as always, was to take that deluge and filter it into something useful.

Hmm, it was a thinly disguised genetics research facility. High end, extreme capabilities. According to fragmentary evidence recovered from the drives Ms. Lawson had acquired all data and multiple samples had been sent to Noveria, so likely there. That meant the place was heavily involved in forensic xeno-genetics. He started getting a bad feeling himself and activated a com channel to Rasa, his head of covert operations.

"Whaddya need boss?"

"Evacuate all our operations on Noveria fast and quiet. This is _not_ a liquidate order. If anyone dies expect me to look into things _personally_."

"On it boss."

He nodded as the call ended. Rasa was good, very good, but a bit too fond of 'Sterile' as opposed to 'Ghost' operations. She also wasn't entirely stable but finding a suitable replacement was proving far more problematic than he'd anticipated. Ms. Lawson would've been ideal but the woman was a Broker asset and not inclined to change her allegiances. That of course discounted Shepard's reactions to anything including the word 'Cerberus'. Put those two factors together and recruiting Ms. Lawson in any capacity was completely unrealistic.

Shepard's sisters weren't fond of his renewed involvement in their lives of course but they at least could see reason. Shepard couldn't. The hatred she had for his organization bordered on fanatical and suggesting Kelly get close to her had been the first thing in years to truly terrify him. While it'd been a relief to know he could still care, could still _feel_ , it also reminded him of how... different he was from the man he'd once been. How _other_ he'd become.

Suddenly disgusted with literally everything, himself most of all, he fired the rest of his glass of whisky down his throat and buried himself in data flows again.

-^V^- -^V^-

Garage supervisor Lilihierax shook his head at the monitor and said "Sorry boss, no can do. The whole Port Hanshan monorail system's down. Some kinda code crash from a firmware update pushed out by Vader-Keurig about an hour ago. Didn't install right I guess. I have my best people working on it now."

On the screen his boss screamed "WHY DIDN'T YOU CONTACT ME?!"

"I did. Fifteen page summary of everything I knew."

"I received no such data work!"

He blinked, fringes twitching as that got his spurs up. "Just a sec, I'm thinking more than the monorail system's been knocked out. Lemme run a few diagnostics... Boss, I think we've been hacked. I just did a systems review and literally every system I can look at's showing reduced functionality."

The Salarian fumed but they both knew network security wasn't his job and not his specialty. He fixed the vehicles, kept the hardware working, and if a computer issue came up referred it to the right department. About all he could do was what he'd done. Run a diagnostic and relay the results.

"I need to get a group of roughly 12 people to Peak 15 immediately. I don't care what you do but make it happen immediately. Anoleis out!"

The call ended before he could say anything and he glared at the display before he grumbled "Why exactly did I let someone talk me into accepting a damn promotion again?"

He shook his head, scratched at his mandibles in irritation, then headed to one of the smaller garages to see if he could find something he could jury rig with independent power so it could run the rails. Of course switching to a different track would be problematic but... hmm, what about using one of the old wheeled collapsed-tunnel clearing machines. They weren't fast but they didn't need traffic control or external power sources either.

He nodded to himself then headed that way. As he did he was on his omni making calls, getting everyone on emergency shifts with promises of bonus pay for the overtime to fix this problem and find out what in the ancestor's talons was going on.

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard had the Normandy crew, as many as would fit, gathered in the well deck for briefing.

"Okay people, listen up." She declared loudly. "All our intel points to a facility called Peak-15. It's remote, isolated, and all data on it's out of date or suspect. As of now all hands set condition R1. Marines, gear up, full kits, keep the ship secured, and be ready to pull a hot evac for specialist teams one and two if things go Shepard."

Alenko, as head of the ship's marine contingent, said "Aye ma'am."

"Go Shepard?" Tali, standing next to Addams, inquired cautiously.

"If the this turns into a war."

"Oh."

"Nihlus, tactical overwatch?"

"I'll help where I can." He confirmed.

"Thanks. Specialists, gear up. Full loads; go heavy on medi-gel and omni-gel. Ash, Garrus, Wrex, let's talk. Everyone else, move ass. We're outta here in 30."

The crew dispersed and she hopped down off the tank she'd been using as a podium. She waited until squad one was in speaking distance then said "Ash, take two blocks of phasic rounds, two of HTI, plus a Falcon loaded with variable fuse incendiary frag rounds. Go with whatever other gear you want. Wrex, that AT-12 good to go?"

His grin was huge, toothy, and anticipatory. "Yeah."

"Good. Vakarian, Phaeston?"

"All tuned up and ready to roll commander."

"Good. One block AP, one block Phasics, one block normal rounds. Everyone, load up on as much omni and medi-gel as you can without costing you mobility."

"What're you taking?" Wrex asked.

"Rifle, shell launcher with 8 shot rounds, beam gun my sister says won't blow up the moment I use my powers, 4 AP mines, 2 pistols with 4 reloads each, Laseiri, knives, flamethrower app on my omni, 1 kilo each gel." She paused a moment, then decided maybe something to boost their morale a bit was needed and added "And my winning personality."

That earned her some chuckles and she forced that smile Miri said to do when trying to 'be nice' before getting serious again and saying "Let's move."

-^V^- -^V^-

Admiral Ahern eyed the com message before him warily. It'd just come in, priority from Shepard, and it'd had the one message he'd never have expected.

A call for backup, now, preferably with a medical frigate staffed by people that could handle more than humans. Guns, big ones, and prepared to fire full power salvoes at a planetary surface if things went bad.

Since it was Shepard that was kinda a foregone conclusion. Things 'Going Shepard' was pretty much a no-brainer when the woman went off the rails and the whole hunt for Saren was nothing but off the rails.

What had him half ready to grab a gun and start looking for people to kill was that she had a 'Shit feeling about this'.

The moment he'd seen that so did he.

He grimaced and got on the horn to naval command. A moment later Admiral Garrison answered and said "Tradius, not often I hear from you on a priority line. What can I do for you?"

"I need a fast action fleet with a multi-species medical ship hauling ass to Noveria ASAP. We've got an operation in play that looks like it might blow the fuck up in our faces."

He could see that got the man's attention. "We can't land on Noveria." The man replied.

"So park ass in-system and tell those jackasses in overpriced suits you're there for a goddamn siesta. Long as you don't try and violate their airspace they can't do shit."

The man nodded and frowned, then said "I think I can have the 9th scout unit there in, hmm, 11 hours."

"Tell 'em to burn out the fucking drives if they have to but make it faster if you can. I'll handle repair and refit funds."

"Ten then, maybe nine if they push it to the redline."

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"I'll remember. Good luck."

"Thanks, I have a nasty fuckin feeling we'll need it."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Miri's swimming naked - Like she said, the air in the hotel is hyper-dry and she's a bit of a fanatic about her looks so keeping from dehydrating if at all possible is kinda a must. Can't get much more hydrated than soaking in a pool of crystal clear pure mineral water. Also, she knows Ash is asleep and not gay, the Asari don't care about nudity, and she's sure Shepard isn't going to make a move, so being naked really doesn't bother her. As far as she's concerned bodies are bodies. As long as everyone keeps their body parts and hormones to themselves she couldn't care less.

S.O.P. - Standard Operating Procedure

Loaded for Maw - Ever see the 80's action movie movie 'Commando' ? Remember at the end when Matrix is prepping to assault the enemy base and he loads up on guns, more guns, bigger guns, machineguns, grenades, blades, bombs, and a missile launcher? That.

Data concealed in a picture - This is actually done IRL though as one would expect only in cases where hiding data is essential in case it's found. That way, if it is, then people will generally only see pics instead of the data they're looking for. Jedi handwave optional.

Wrex and the AT-12 - Shepard knows they're going into environments where Wrex's normal gun would be a baaaaad idea so she's asked him to also start carrying something with less penetration. A modified Batarian special forces Shotgun they ran across on Omega fit the bill so that's his backup gun.

Shepard and her weapons load - You gotta remember, she's stronger than a normal human and trained to handle those kinds of loads. Hell, she exercises in X2 gravity fields. Because of that she's pretty much covered in weapons.

Heyas all. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. Lotta issues cropped up at once and I got blindsided. Among them was that I was about to post the next chapter for my Kigo fic and suddenly realized I needed to totally redo it from scratch. On the plus side, now my medications are a bit more sorted out so I can hopefully focus for longer and get more work done. I'm also getting 3 solid meals a day and that's a huge help too.

In the next chapter... Things go Shepard.


	28. Chapter 28 - Noveria First Contact

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on, but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The site, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, the site _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don't know why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

CH - 28

Garage supervisor Lilihierax looked around as he entered the secondary service vehicle bay. A cavernous room with two monorails and a garage door, a switcher rail, three service cars, and a heavily modified 'Grizzly' armored fighting vehicle.

There were also crates, open, stacked in a corner. On them were logo's for Binary Helix. Why in the ancestor's names there'd be BH crates in the room, much less _open_ crates, he had no idea. And since this was his domain, especially since this seemed to be the only facility left with a functional vehicle relay and a team of council troubleshooters fronted by a Citadel Council Spectre was on its way.

Something was off.

Old instincts leftover from his military days had his hand on the sidearm he was never without, also a leftover from his time in the military, before he realized he'd even moved. When he did he mentally chuckled _Guess some things don't change no matter how old ya get._

He was approaching the main routing junction for sector comm's when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes and dove to the side. Pain exploded in his guts and he rolled to his feet, sprinted behind a stack of wheels for the tank, then got on his omni while returning fire and bellowed "INTRUDERS IN BAY S-FIVE! SEND SECURITY AND E.M.S. NOW!"

-^V^- -^V^-

Shepard looked down at her arm as her omni chimed with a priority signal from port security. A moment later the secretary lady, Parasini, appeared and said "Commander your destination just sent up an alert. One of our people is under fire and already injured. I've cleared you for deployment to that location and suggest you move quickly."

She nodded and whistled for her people's attention. Once she had it she said "The motor pool's under attack. Move!"

Matching actions to words she started running, keeping her speed to the same as everyone else's, then motioned as they approached the door to their destination for people to stack up. The sounds of Geth weapons were faint but distinct and she said "Geth Infantry." People's looks soured and she saw people get ready then flash her thumb's up's once they were. She held up a hand then started ticking off fingers as a countdown.

Five, she flicked the safety off her rifle and shouldered it.

Four, she set her armor's HUD to combat mode with a couple eye flicks and blinks.

Three, she put up her barrier.

Two, she overcharged her shields.

One, she braced herself to move.

She waved hard at the door once and charged through it

The enemy saw her and instantly focused on her. The battle rifles hit her barrier like belt sanders on hardwood but the sniper rifles were sledge hammers. From the impact power and how they were ripping through her barrier they had to be railguns firing depleted uranium rounds with phasic sheathing. Three, maybe 4 more hits and she'd be down to her armor's shields which she figured could block another 2-3.

Since she could soak a few rounds without getting taken out she played turret for a couple seconds while everyone else rushed into the room and hauled ass for cover positions.

Once her people were safe she sprinted over to a stack of vehicle parts and ducked into cover just as her shields hit 5%. Once there she called out "Stick to the plan!" and chucked a seeker-zapper up in the air. There was a popopopHSSSKAK as it stabilized, then fired itself at the nearest clump of enemies and detonated.

Her people opened fire and she risked a quick peek around cover. The military people were nailing things hard and fast. The specialists not so much but they were at least trying. No one had been hit either and the local civvie was still in the fight. So far so good.

She stayed in cover a few seconds to let her shields recharge then popped out and double-tapped one of the jumpy ones. Her rounds tore off one of it's legs and punched a big damn hole in it's guts, knocking it off the wall where it'd been perched taking pot shots at unit two. Okay, so with their stress on speed, maneuverability, and one slow firing hgh output energy weapon they evidently had shit armor and minimal shields. Good to know.

She ducked back and Miri said "T'Soni, shia'di by those heavy units! Tali, once it's got them in it's field use an arc attack! Vasir, vesta'as to keep their return fire from killing us all! Go!"

A singularity formed in the middle of most of a squad of Geth, instantly yanking them off their feet and spinning them through the air like electrons around an atom. Then an electrical arc attack zapped half of them followed by the combined weapons fire of Miri's unit ripping what was left of the group to pieces. Then the dark matter exploded and reduced what was left to rice-sized shrapnel and a smouldering crater in the polycrete floor.

Williams used her Falcon to shell one of the support units and it's two buddies with an HEF round. The detonation was a thundering boom accompanied by the sounds of machines hitting the ground in a lot of pieces.

Wrex's gun thundered like the artillery piece it was, the sound in her helmet cutting out for a second to keep her from going deaf. One of the enemy support units was hit, it's torso literally collapsing as the round hit with as much force as a MAKO's main gun and then lit everything near the wound path on fire. The thing dropped with a squeal of electronic something and promptly exploded.

Vakarian's rifle boomed and one of the jumpy units lost everything from the shoulders up. It fell to the floor and crunch-splatted, scattering some kind of powerful acid over that part of the room.

She popped out of cover, put two shots into a support unit, and watched her rounds spark as they punched neat little half inch holes in the thing's eye and power core. Smoke started wafting out of the wounds while it started to spaz and jerk.

Then she recoiled as the remaining two tried to kill her, their fire chewing her cover up like varren on an old bone.

Another thoonk-BOOM as Williams fired the Falcon again. The two support units trying to kill her staggered, their shields dropping. A second later both went down to coordinated fire from unit one and what hit the ground barely qualified as scrap.

The last few Geth were put down in short order. Once she couldn't see anything wrong and the number of dead enemies matched those she'd seen going in she called out "Assess and secure!"

As people had been taught they checked themselves over for damage or injuries. No one had taken any rounds but a few had shrapnel peppering small craters in their armor and DEW scarring from near misses. The general area was then checked out with sensors and a fast manual search by drones.

The area officially cleared she said "Two! Check wreckage for intel! One, stay pointy!"

People confirmed the orders and she jogged over to the civilian to check him over. As she approached she said "Spectre Shepard. Who and how are you?"

"Garage supervisor Lilihierax ma'am. One round through the gut, hurts like Batarian poetry but I'll survive."

She nodded, ran an omni-scan on him, and relayed that to local EMS along with an 'All Clear' notice.

"Never thought I'd see a Rach'rit in use. Damn thing's so loud my hearing's still warbling but ancestors, the damage it does. No wonder the Krogan love the things."

A few seconds later paramedics and security guards showed up. The guards instantly gaped at everything like the civilian blowhards they were while the medics focused on their work and had the Turian's wound bared, gelled, and wrapped in a minute flat. Then they got hm on a grav-stretcher and hauled him off while Parasini, surprisingly, showed up and asked how things were.

"Enemy units eliminated, area secured, civilian rescued."

"So I see. A moment of your time ma'am?"

She blinked then followed 'Pinky' off to the side.

"Look, I know you have no reason to trust me but it's gonna be an hour, minimum, until we can get this room cleared and your transport prepped. In the meantime I could use your help. I'm Noverian executive internal affairs and Anoleis has been embezzling a lot of money. The local scholastic system, the central hospital, the monorail network maintenance budget, and a ton of other shit. If you could pull a few spectre strings, maybe check the hidden bank accounts I know of but can't access, I can arrest him and clear your way so you won't have to fight the system to get things done anymore."

"ID?"

The woman got it out of a hidden pocket and showed it to her. She checked it then said "Miri! Over here please."

The brunette jogged over and asked "What?"

"She needs you and my codes to check for corporate corruption. We do that, she makes our lives easier."

"Brilliant. Log me in please."

She did and once the screen showed the right warnings as a ticker in the bottom her bondmate asked "What do you need me to do Ms. Parasini?"

She left them to it and went over to where unit two was clumped. "Good work people."

That earned her surprised looks and she explained "You didn't freak, you didn't run. Doctor, Tali, you both realized you're weak at long range, correct?"

Both nodded, looking displeased. "Good. Tali, check the Geth rifles. If they're useable or can be made that way fast, do so. Aethyta, solid close cover but you're too used to operating alone. More teamwork please."

That earned her a glare but it also got her a nod.

She left it at that and headed over to unit one. "Good work but we can improve. Garrus, your sniper rifle isn't meant for fast targets. Go battle rifle. Ash, grenades on the big ones only please. Lighter weapons can handle the basics and the hoppers without costing us limited use explosives. Wrex, biotics and AT-12 on anything under commander-class. Everyone's audio dampers keep having to cut audio when you fire the Rach'rit. You also have ammo issues."

"Teaching an old Varren new tricks kid?"

"No one's perfect. Example. I need to coordinate people better. We were operating as independants and that can get us all killed. I also didn't use EWar attacks when in cover, and none of us used flare-flash grenades."

"Huh. Good point."

She nodded and said "I know I'm not your battlemaster and I never will be, but we're facing numerically and technologically superior enemies. We coordinate or we die. That simple."

His reply was an uninformative grunt. It wasn't a 'fuck you' though so she took what she could get.

She got on the com to the Normandy, relayed her mission files, and said "Report."

Nihlus's voice replied "Other than raised security levels and an extra squad of security officers keeping watch on the Normandy there's been no change in local status. Admiral Ahern just let us know the reinforcements you requested are on their way but won't be here for nearly a day."

She scowled but said "Copy that. RTB for resupply. Gonna be an hour until we're good to go."

"Copy that." He confirmed.

She ended the call and said "RTB for supplies and munchies people! Grab salvage for intel and let's move!"

-^V^- -^V^-

Nearly two hours later Shepard finished checking the monorail service cart that'd been prepped for them and nodded. All they needed now was to haul ass. A task made much easier by Parasini having nailed Anoleis to the wall, legally speaking, about 20 minutes after they'd spoken. Now some interim aide was in charge and he'd been real cooperative so far.

The AIS had been ecstatic about the salvage and already had their people hard at work trying to analyze it. Enough so they weren't demanding a five hour debrief on a 5 minute fight.

Ash, Tali, and Garrus had already modded the Geth Rifles for use by non-Geth and she had them document the process to mollify command about her keeping the damn things instead of sending them back to base for analysis. Besides, it wasn't like they hadn't grabbed another 3 rifles, among other things, to toss their way.

Now everyone was rested, reloaded, and re-geared as needed or requested, with special authorizations noted for the use of otherwise regulated or illegal weapons. They also had transport and thanks to a couple drones, knew the path to get to the OZ was clear. The locals were cooperating, and command wasn't fucking it all up.

As mission starts went she'd seen a lot worse.

"We're clear. Wrex, you and I up front. Garrus, Ash, rearguard. Everyone else in the middle. Tali, pop a sensor drone 200 meters ahead of the cart, full suite, and link it to a datapad, _not_ your omni. We don't need them using the drone signal to jack your suit."

"Yes ma'am." A moment later a disk-shaped drone appeared and raced off.

"Everyone else Iso mode on your armors, same reason."

Since they were up against a legion of enemy AI's they were using headsets inside of helmets with cutouts in the padding. It wasn't a perfect solution, but they hadn't had the time or materials for better.

Once everyone had done as she'd asked she continued the brief.

"Intel says this may be a genetics facility, high end, so don't shoot near anything with a warning sign on it. If we run into hostile organics hit them with flames, corrosives, and DOT biotics. Ash, try not to enjoy yourself too much"

The Gunny grinned.

"Isn't the use of incendiary or acidic agents on living beings illegal?" Dr. T'Soni asked, a painted-on eyebrow high.

"Not on Noveria."

"Ah."

She looked to them all and said "Ego's out the door and brain's engaged people or you _will_ wind up compost. Let's go."

Her speech done people got into position and she nodded to Miri who was at the controls. A second later the wheeled sled they were on jerked, making several people stumble, then accelerated up to about 50 klicks an hour. Since they had about 200 to go that meant a 4 hour trip of nothing but bare tunnels and cold wind. At least, she figured, until they got to be about a klick from the target. Then it's defenses would probably kick in and things would get hairy fast.

They did.

-^V^- -^V^-

"Okay people, 1.5 klicks to target. There's a bend up ahead then a straight shot to Peak 15 station. Biotics, stagger barriers. Techs back their barriers up with hard shields. Once we're to the docks get to cover and hold."

She was silent a moment, then decided to say something to keep people's morale up in the face on an impending attack. "You can do this. You wouldn't be here if you couldn't."

That seemed to settle the civvies so she got in position and took a few slow deep breaths so she could focus. Five layers of biotic barriers appeared as people did their jobs, then 2 more 'hard' tech barriers went up behind those as a last line of defense.

When they rounded the bend, just as she'd figured two turrets opened fire with heavy cannon. She saw Aethyta's scowl intensify and a few seconds of fire later a trickle of blood seeped out of the woman's nose. They'd gotten nearly 250 meters in before the woman's eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed, her barrier sputtering out.

Wrex growled as his own started soaking shots next, the rounds flaring and sparking as they hit the hyper dense field of dark matter and were instantly rent asunder. Another 240 meters and he staggered, his own barrier flickering to nothing.

She grunted as her own started taking hits and focused. Ignoring the dizziness, ignoring the pain, keeping the field up for as long as she could. Her world narrowed to that one thing until her abilities finally overloaded. The feedback drove her to her knees with her vision dark, bloody around the edges from burst capillaries in her eyes. She managed to stay conscious however as the Krogan redundancies in her nervous system blunted it from 'Brainfry' to 'kicked in the head by a Muy Thai fighter wearing electrified shoes'.

Liara's field was next and lasted until they were about a hundred meters from the target then the good doctor joined her mother in a slump on the deck.

Miri's was last and got them to the 25 meter mark.

The first tech shield flared and cut out at the ten.

The second just as they stopped at the terminal under the turrets amid a fog of spent coolant.

Now out of the cannons fields of fire the non-biotics swung into action instantly, dragging people to safety and rendering medical aid. She helped that along by triggering the medkit in her own armor. A tingle and an icy flushed feeling later her vision cleared, mostly, and she asked "Status?"

Ash was the one to reply from where she was tending Wrex. "Lotta neural trauma and some busted veins ma'am but nothing a few minutes to R&R and some meds won't fix."

Garrus called out "We don't have a few minutes!" and opened fire on something in the room beyond the freight hatch.

"Garrus, Ash, Wrex, on the door! I'll handle the biotics!"

"Not gonna worry about me Shepard?" The huge lizard asked as he stood, wobbled for a second, then got into position and readied himself.

"Krogan don't get debilitated when you overload their biotics, just pissed off." She stated as she checked on Miri. Low level case of neural trauma. She injected the right meds then moved on to Aethyta.

Her nervous system was jittery, staggering. She grimaced and grabbed a medical gadget off the woman's utility harness then set it to the base of her neck and triggered it. A pulsed electrical field zapped the Asari's spine, resetting her nervous system like a defib on a human's heart and she moved on to Liara. Same diagnosis, same treatment.

That done she jogged over to the doorway and asked "Enemy type?"

"Roving security drones! A swarm of the talon scraping little skeit. Switch!" The Turian ducked back and Ash took his place while he relayed targeting and target data to the team.

She looked it over then said "Ash, switch to the falcon with zapper rounds. On my go pop off a 3 shot fusillade, wide dispersion. Everyone else, stack up and be ready to rush to cover. There's crates to the right and left so two, head right. One, head left. Formation Me, Miri, then everyone else. Miri, you and I go top speed, get to the crates, and provide cover fire."

The brunette nodded and she asked "Everyone good to go?"

She got a lot of confirmations though the ones from Aethyta and Liara were shaky. "30 seconds." It was as much time as she could spare for them, probably more than she should, but it was long term risks versus short term gains. Long term risks meant shit if you died before they became a problem so she did what she had to and hoped it wouldn't get them all killed anyways.

At the five mark she held up a hand and started ticking off fingers while readying her rifle. The moment the last finger went down she motioned to the door while Ash, on the other side of the door frame, started rapid-firing the Falcon.

She ducked and rushed through, hauling ass to cover at top speed then opening fire while everyone but Miri was still working on getting through the doorway. A moment later Miri's PDW started burping out three round bursts and between the two of them they had 7 of the bots down before people finished getting to cover.

"Check!"

She got a chorus of "I'm fine!" back and popped back behind cover. After a second she looked to Garrus and said "Launch one of the micro drones I loaned you. It can help with mapping and targeting."

He nodded and did so, the bottlecap sized alloy disk whirring off while he piloted it via his omni. While he did that she called out "Incoming imaging!"

A few seconds later she got a series of thumb's up's from everyone and started using eye movements to highlight where and when she needed everyone to go. Once she'd done that she motioned to Miri's group, held up one finger, then to her own and held up two. Once people knew the move order she pulled out a guided zapper grenade, primed it, and called out "Three! Two! One! Go!"

She chucked the munition into the air and then grabbed her rifle and opened fire again, the heavy rounds punching through a trio of security bot's light armor like pickaxes through sheet metal. A HSSSPOPOPOPZZZAP later another 2 shorted out as their systems were fried. She did a quick enemy count and called out "Four left!" She then swapped places with Wrex and reloaded her rifle.

Miri's group got into things, the biotics-heavy unit annihilating the surviving bots in short order with a barrage of warps and singularities that left molten alloys floating through the room for a few seconds before splashing on the floor. She gave everyone a few moments to catch their breath then called out "Check!"

A chorus of people saying they were good to go sounded and she said "Form up people. This was just them saying hello so don't get cocky! Let's move!"


	29. Chapter 29 - Rise of the Hellion

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on, but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The site, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, the site _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don't know why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

CH - 29

Shepard sagged, panting, as she and the others took a few moments to recover after they'd been ambushed yet again by a squad of Geth infantry with personal cloaks. If Wrex hadn't smelled the damn things the group would've been hammered hard. As it was Liara was being tended to by Miri for a through-and-through to her left thigh. It wasn't a major injury since Asari were resistant to pinpoint wound shock but Aethyta still lambasted her daughter for not sticking to cover.

Having fought their way through the terminal to the main 'customs' foyer for the Binary Helix main complex, they were now officially in enemy territory and she'd made sure everyone knew it. After being ambushed five times in less than an hour even the civvies were on the pointy end (Except Liara, who now looked as pissed off as she did chagrined) and giving everything a hard eye.

Part of the area was on fire thanks to Ash dumping half a block of incendiary rounds and a couple under-barrel flamethrower bursts into the enemy formation. On one side, doing so had shorted out the enemy's cloak and made it a lot easier to fight them. On the other they were now facing a deluge of water and the wailing of fire alarms.

"Tali, cut that damn alarm! Ash, less fire more target discretion! Everyone, if you're not shooting around something you're doing it wrong! Wrex, Tali, switch to shotguns and close cover. If it's farther away than 10 meters leave it to everyone else. Your shotguns are the only in-close equalizer we have."

That earned her a couple nods and Wrex didn't argue. He knew he was best up close so shifting his ops to point blank engagements played to his greatest strengths. Tali was solid with a shotgun but could only spray and pray with a rifle. Great for cover fire, not so much for anything else. To the kid's credit she seemed to realize it and was pro enough to accept that fact instead of argue otherwise.

"Liara, spam Iadei if you can. They can't seem to hit anything the moment they're airborne. Aethyta, they seem to clump up and go turret when they fire so Niviri the idiots. Between that and Liara's Iadei they'll have to totally redo their entire attack strategy."

The woman grinned and she focused on unit one. "Garrus, stop trying to rush the fuckers. You've got the best aim of anyone here except Miri and I. Getting in close costs us all that advantage."

He grunted but didn't argue.

She looked to Miri and said "Please engage your cloak and scout ahead a bit."

That earned her a nod of agreement and a moment later the woman disappeared, the cloak Crissy having made _not_ failing in the water.

She knelt, grabbed a big sip of nutrient water from her helmet feed, and mentally slowed her pulse to resting levels. One of the Hellion project's biggest and most common defects was that their cardiopulminary systems couldn't handle extended overdrive. Since any trauma that hit her also hit Miri she was having to force herself to use moments like this to 'reset' her stress levels.

Doing it was potentially even more dangerous however. By dropping her adrenaline levels and lowering her BP she was slowing her reaction times and reducing her ability to absorb damage. The upside was no more heart attacks or spontaneous internal hemorraging. It also lessened the chance she'd blood rage and put Miri in danger. Theoretically it'd lengthen her battlefield viability duration and general survivability but this was the first mission it'd been seeing practical testing.

A few minutes later she sensed her bondmate approaching and said "Miri's back."

The brunette decloaked a moment later and said "Something is _very_ wrong. Facilities like this always have emplaced defenses that deploy automatically in emergencies. If contact with command is lost they assume the the facility's been taken and attack anything in range. The problem is, as best I can tell the defenses are completely buggered. No alarms, no turrets, even the bloody automated sentries aren't on alert mode. They're just chasing movement looking for IFF failures."

"Geth're suppressing the alarms?"

"I'm... not sure. I don't think they're suppressing them so much as somehow having disabled the entire security grid. If they could do that though why not co-opt the defenses and set them to sterilization mode?"

She looked to Tali who said "Geth code has severe compatibility problems with non Geth or Quarian systems. It's why I have two omni's. Something as delicate as shifting IFF's would be much harder for them than a simple network code kill."

She nodded and asked "Miri, route?" Her bondmate updated everyone's headsets with the right nav data and she motioned them all forward.

About fifteen minutes later she spotted a flicker ahead and called out "Contact 11!" while aiming her rifle and pulling the trigger. The 700 grain round blasted out at just under mach 3 and a split second later a Geth stealth unit staggered back, shrieking as the surge field coating the round nailed it's systems.

Two more decloaked, firing as they did, and she ducked behind cover. Aethyta globbed them with a sludge-like Niviri warp and Dr. Ts'oni popped out an iadei singularity almost instantly, catching two of them in the grav field.

Since those two weren't a problem she called out "Focus on the free one!" People did, and by the time the two that'd gotten flying lessons hit the ground there wasn't much left of any of them.

She looked around, then highlighted positions and ordered said "Cover positions."

People complied instantly and a minute or so later a full platoon of Geth rammed through the door in the far end of the room.

Gunfire and blue light flared instantly, catching the robots in a crossfire that stalled their advance and destroyed a full squad's worth of platforms before the things could recover enough to retreat.

As one got close to its fellows she opened fire on it, the massive round punching a fist-sized hole clear through it's power core. The light in it's 'eye' died instantly and she used a biotic shove to knock it back into it's buddies just before it exploded.

The self destruct staggered pretty much everyone but the Geth took it a lot harder. Two lost arms, one lost a leg, most lost hold of their rifles leaving them with nothing but damaged hulls and whatever integral weapons they had. Ash, seeing the conditions she'd set for grenade use being met, tossed a zapper at the group as it was still trying to recover from the explosion. There was a loud P-P-POP sound, flickering light, and then nothing as the machines finally stopped moving.

People ceased fire and she said "Aethyta, corpse detail. Everyone, good work. Once Aethyta's done making sure the dead are actually dead we move."

Orders done she leaned against a wall, eyes appraising everything nonstop as she focused on 'resetting' again. A few seconds later she'd dropped her bio-stress levels under 'overdrive' levels again. She was still on edge, still ready to kick ass the moment an ass showed up to kick, but to quote Joker she'd eased off the gas enough to dump the turbo.

A minute later Aethyta called out "Clear!"

She stood then looked to Miri and asked "Which way?"

"Follow this hall two checkpoints then turn right into freight processing. According to the Broker there's a concealed terminal leading to the P-15 hot labs there."

"You heard her. At the jog."

She got going, keeping every sensor in her armor going full gain since stealth wasn't an issue anymore. The Geth likely knew where they were and where they were headed. Their best bet now was to get there before the damn things could get too dug in to get through.

They got in a couple fast skirmishes on the way to their destination, both obviously there as delaying forces, but they managed to blitz their way through without any major issues other than Dr. T'Soni tiring herself out flinging singularities fast and hard. Between that, Aethyta's staggered flares and warps, and everyone's combined gunfire the Geth were going down fast and the unit's morale was guarded but high. A good thing, but in her experience that was when things inevitably went bad.

And then they did.

-^V^- -^V^-

Miranda motioned for everyone to stop and said "Through those doors is what's publicly a warehouse, but according to the Broker is a routing center to get to the ghost labs. According to the layout however this is a purpose-built chokepoint. If the Geth have any form of defenses organized getting through intact will be a bloody nightmare."

She nodded and said "Garrus, got breach paste?"

"Always."

"Prep the doors. Ash, once he blows them out of the wall and your FoF is clear put out a full barrage of zappers. Tali, pop flares, chaff, and ECM pulses the moment she ceases fires. Wrex, Aethyta, you have the strongest barriers. You lead the charge in and everyone gets to cover ASAP."

She looked around and everyone nodded.

"Good. Garrus, one. Ash, two. Tali, three, charge four."

Everyone nodded and stacked up 'Shepard style' while Garrus used what looked like a double sized tube of toothpaste marked with explosives hazard warnings to create a line around the door right next to the frame. Then he stuck a couple toothpick-like detonators in it on opposite sides and shot them all a thumb's up.

Once everyone was in position and had also indicated they were good to go she said "Ready, ONE."

A flash of light, a loud bang, and the sound of alloy slabs being ripped out of their mountings and kicked hard.

"TWO"

Ash was already in position and started firing with a fast harsh Bamf Bamf Bamf bass thump. A couple wild shots at first as the woman figured out what was where, then focusing on anything in a position to block their charge.

"THREE!"

Tali, next to the door, tapped an icon on her omni and there was a barrage of flares, omni-chaff, full-spectrum white noise, and plasma 'sparks' that filled the smoking wreckage that'd once been a door frame.

She consciously kicked herself into combat overdrive, the massive adrenaline dump turning the edges of her vision bloody and slowing everything to the point it as like bullet time in that old movie Joker liked then called out "FOUR!"

Wrex and Aethyta both popped their barriers then charged into the room with their respective units right on their asses as they sprinted to cover positions.

She hauled ass for a good spot off to the side with a solid field of view and a big slab of machinery to play blocker. An industrial forklift she put a round into just in case the Geth thought to hack it.

Once to cover she took a moment to get a solid look around and spotted a heavily modified Prime. Twice as large as a normal one, colored blood red, and loaded with enough weapons to take them all on by itself. If she didn't kill that thing fast they were all fucked.

She safe'd her rifle, switched it for the thing Crissy'd made, then clicked the fire selector to 'Charge'. If the manual had been right it'd take 2 seconds then she needed to fire in three or the thing would go off on it's own to keep from blowing up.

While she waited she called out "Drones!" and smiled when people did as instructed, the 'tech' members of the unit omni-spawning seek and destroy UCAV's that couldn't be hacked simply because once launched they had no comm capability at all and only enough processing power to move, target anything that fit certain parameters, and fire arc attacks until they lost cohesion at which point they'd kamikaze the nearest enemy unit and explode in high intensity plasma.

The things did their jobs and distracted the enemy long enough for the gun to charge with an ominous humming sound. The moment it beeped ready she popped out of cover for a moment, sighted, and fired in one smooth motion. Blue light flared and there was a loud electronic snarl, like someone had taken a jackhammer and turned it into a rotary cannon. The beam hit her target and she almost stared in shock at the damage it did. The super-prime wasn't just killed, it was blasted to eezo-laced superheated dust that slowly drifted off.

She managed to duck back behind cover, bellowed at people to do the same, then swapped back to her rifle and shook her head. No wonder Crissy'd been proud of it. The thing hit like a sub-cap scale disruptor.

Then she remembered, this was just the infantry-scale model. There was an actual cap-scale system built for use on heavy frigates. The kind of damage that sucker would do... fuuuuuck.

She took a moment to unify everyone's data feeds and auto-target enemy units so everyone could see what was where, then used that to pop out and countersnipe a hopper that was trying to set itself up in a shadowed corner of the warehouse-sized room.

She saw things were at range so she highighted a normal prime and called out "Flare Arty!"

Both Aethyta and Liara blasted out santiir and a moment later the prime, along with it's two bodyguards, vanished in biotic explosions.

She resumed firing, one round per target right in the core or comm system. After a moment the others joined in, putting the rapidly diminishing Geth forces on the defensive. As the Geth went down several exploded, self destructing to keep their tech and/or information out of enemy hands. That caused the mechs almost as much damage as her people were causing and she helped that along by calling out "Target power cores!"

The military people focused fires while the civvies just focused on hitting something useful. Her gun clicked and she flipped it to the side, saw the bolt locked back, then called out "Reloading!" while poking the mag release and flipping it the other way then ramming in a fresh mag. A slap at the charging handle slammed a round into the chamber and she cursed when she saw Liara's condition icon go from green to blinking red. A moment later she said "Medic on Liara!" and watched as Tali of all people proved to be a decent combat medic, quickly cleaning and sealing the wound to standards any CM would've been proud of. She'd need to ask about that later.

She saw the last enemy Prime recovering from Ash's initial falcon barrage and called out "Two, Prime at 1!"

The group focused its fire and a warp covered half the thing in hyper-acidic sludge a moment later, burning through it's shields, and then slagging about a third of it's torso, totally removing the right arm, before fading. The thing promptly exploded and she did a quick head count. Five enemy units left, make that four, and no one on her side was dead though she was getting medical alerts from a few.

She paused, loaded a HIEX round into the rifle's shell launcher, then choonk'd it off at the pile of crates three of the surviving Geth were jogging towards now that they'd realized they needed to get to cover. The stack exploded and collpsed, burying one, knocking one down, and staggering the third. Ash nailed them with a burst from her flamethrower and suddenly the fight was over as the 4th went down to a round from Vakarian's sniper rifle.

"Assess and treat casualties. Uninjured and non medical, secure the area. IED warning in effect, treat everything as live until you've personally secured it."

Everyone nodded and the injured were cleared faster than she'd planned, but between Tali and Aethyta the work was done fast and tight. When she finished she asked "Medical, report."

Tali, with the better diagnostic setup, walked over and said "Dr. T'Soni took a round to the side but it hit mostly muscle so she's relatively okay. Gunny Ash had a graze to a shoulder and a round went through a thigh but she seems more angry than hurt. Vakarian's had to abandon his helmet and has a badly cracked left brow plate, a concussion, and is having trouble keeping his eyes focused on things so he's compensating by not looking anywhere for long. I dosed him on neural trauma meds and used plate epoxy on the crack."

"Good work. Why're you medic trained?"

"Most Quarians are. We don't have enough full fledged doctors to go around so we're all encouraged, especially those of us who go on pilgrimage, to cross train in emergency medical care. Besides, if there's a major incident the doctors are all gonna be worrying about the big stuff. Small stuff like cuts, bruises, broken bones, minor burns, and so on everyone's expected to be able to handle themselves. I've had multiple suit breaches, stab wounds, lacerations, severe impact trauma from some deep space salvage hitting me when I wasn't looking, few other things. Other than the wreckage I treated it all myself, mostly because either no one else was around or no one else was willing."

"Willing?"

"I'm an Admiral's daughter. What humans might call a princess, maybe, so most Quarians don't like touching me because they're worried they'll be seen as rude or threatening."

"Ah. Well, good work."

"Thanks. What do we do now?"

Everyone looked to her for answers on that and she said "Take ten, grab a sip or five out of canteens, then be ready to move. Miri, facility entrance please."

Nine minutes later the hidden, really damn well hidden, door to the transit tunnel to the black lab they were headed to opened with a surprisingly quiet klunk and a hum.

"This is _so_ out of a cheesy spy movie." Ash declared with a grin.

"Spy movie?"

"James Bond? Kingsman? Get Smart? League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Austin Powers?"

She shook her head, as did everyone else. That seemed to annoy the living hell outta the gunny who declared "Next time we get R&R I'm dragging you people to a conference room and making you all watch Never say Never again. And people call _me_ uncultured. Yeesh."

She shrugged, then said "Okay people, break's over. Tali, Garrus, drone recon. Wrex, you and I pop our faceplates. Might smell something before we can see it and external air feeds might filter something we need to smell."

He nodded and his helmet retracted into his armor. The front of hers simply flipped up and slid back out of the way. Almost instantly she scented something she couldn't identify and she looked to him to see if he was getting it too. He growled "Something's in there. I can't tell what is is but it's got me near ready to blood rage just smelling the ancestors-damned thing."

She nodded. "Same. Everyone on the pointy end people and if you see something wrong, as long as there's not a hazard symbol on it, shoot it. No warnings, leave questions to forensics." After a moment she said "Unit one in the lead. Two, you're tail with Aethyta last in line. Aethyta, keep an eye on our flank. Dark House rules here on in."

"On it."

"Dark House Rules?" Miri asked, shooting her an inquisitive look.

"No hesitation, no mercy, annihilate all enemy forces using whatever means required."

"So in other words business as bloody usual." The woman groused. Aethyta snickered and she stated "No. Until now you've seen _Shepard_ in action." She mentally slipped into what Anderson called 'Kill Mode' and when she spoke next her voice held all the emotion of a weapons system looking for targets.

"Hellion DST-214B batch 3F. Recon and sterilization protocols active. Command designate; null. Tasking; protect allied assets, establish purpose of facility and confirm/deny possible ties to enemy elements, annihilate all enemy assets."

She felt heat flash through her, and that faint, malicious, familiar smile curve her lips. "ROE zero-zero-zero. Engaging all targets."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Heyas!

Sorry for the delay. Like I said in my KP fick, writer's block, mental weirdness, and the usual physical issues. Also, I've had tons of inspiration for later parts in the story so while this chapters 6 pages, I actually got more like 30 for future events like Grunt joining the Normandy crew, Liara becoming the Broker, and a member of the Normandy crew getting pregnant... for life.

Shepard and Hellion being two separate personalities - After their escape Shepard and her sisters realized really damn fast that the way they'd been taught to handle things wasn't condusive to longterm survival. So, using a combination of drugs and hypnotic suggestion, they essentially broke each other's personalities into two separate entities. The 'Person' and the 'Hellion'. Then they reassigned who was in charge of what so even when 'kill mode' takes over they still had some level of control. On the plus side, it gives them a lot more control over who and what they are. It also, since Hellion is pretty much completely emotionless aside from enjoying killing, strangling, bombing, electrocuting (Kudos to anyone that gets the reference lol), makes them better able to use their powers without getting hurt in Hellion mode, but at the cost of almost certainly doing things they'll regret or even hate later. Shepard's only willing now because her bad feeling's telling her she needs to go 100% war mode or they're all dead.

Put simply 'Shepard' is a beast. 'Hellion' is a monster.

As for the specifics of what she says and the end she lists her Hellion Project ID, which basic operating directives she's operating under, who her commanding officer is, her specific mission, and then says any and all Rules of engagement are being disregarded.

Lastly, that flush of heat is Shepard's biotics fully triggering. Due to her Ardat nature however her eyes don't flash blue like a normal biotics, but red, and major neural pathways that are close to the skin also glow red. My take on 'Renegade glow' from ME2 and 3 but with less zombie and more demon.

From here on in until Hellion mode switches off I will not be using Shepard's POV. In Hellion mode she really doesn't have one and it's pretty damn boring to write what would be the organic equivalent of a VI. So, until Shepard regains her wits Miri will be the 'default' POV.

Proofing credit goes to my guest proofer BloodsplatBOOM


	30. Chapter 30 - Of Derp and Raid

**Mass Effect - Hellion**

Mass Effect and all the original characters are the property of Electronic Arts and Bioware. No infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Dragonball Z was created by Akira Torayama and is owned by Toei Animation and Funimation. As above, no infringement intended, story written and distributed for no compensation.

Story is intended for mature audiences 18 and up due to language, adult situations, alcohol, drugs, and psychological issues.

Note to Readers; I don't know what's going on, but my stories lack all formatting because the site clears it all once I save the document. I've tried uploading in Odt, DocX, TxT, HTML, even copy-pasted from Google Docs. The site, when I then save the document to the site ditches all indents and tabs. Even if I edit the document _on the site_ , re-add it all, and then save, the site _STILL_ gets rid of it all. I don'tknow why but anyone that can give me a functional solution will get a special mention in both my Mass Effect and Kim Possible fics for it.

CH - 30

Miranda Lawson hadn't known Shepard long but in that time she'd seen the woman a lot of things. _Sensed_ her a lot of things. Terrified, amused, confused, pissed off, protective, unsure, focused, scattered, and more.

Not once had their bond been _flat_.

"Shepard?" She asked cautiously, not sure what the hell was going on.

"Pausing operations. Designate; Shepard inactive. Hellion unit activated due to extreme threat assessment to unit and Aphrodite unit 12 designate; protectmateMiranda Lawson."

She blinked, then pointedly asked "What does 'Protectmate' mean? Has Shepard been playing me to get in my skirt?"

"Instinct based designation, reason unknown. Absolute mandate; Your preservation at all costs. Motives impossible to discern due to momentary partial personality crash at onset of potential amorous moments."

She facepalmed while most everyone else snickered. Even the Quarian kid Tali'Zorah was shaking, blatantly fighting off a laugh.

"Ugh, I give up. Let's just go."

"Unit resuming engagement of all targets."

"Just don't endanger _me_ while engaging targets." she groused.

"Aknowledged."

-^V^- -^V^-

The first sign they'd had that anything was off was a spray of cracked black resin and metallic fibers in a corner. Part spiderweb, part chitin, it was like nothing she'd ever seen and it set off every 'Turn around and _RUN_ ' alarm in her head.

The only problem being there was nowhere _to_ run.

She could tell that everyone else, even the Quarian teenager, were more than slightly disquieted by the sight of it. All but Shepard/Hellion anyways, who was still flat. "What is it?" She asked, hoping someone had an answer.

No one did, though the now red-eyed woman leading them stated "Biometallic resin. Arachnoidal emission, source large. Likely resistant to physical attacks and vulnerable to temperature extremes."

That was more than they'd had. "Ash, flame it for a moment please." She stated, hoping to find out of her companion was right.

The woman gave it a 1-second burst from a plasma flamethrower app. It charred, edges and highlights turning to red embers for a few seconds, and started emitting possibly the most horrid smell she'd ever had the misfortune to experience. Overall however it seemed only minimally damaged. She hit it with a cryo attack, then waited a moment and kicked it. Instead of the sound of things breaking she got a muted thump and ice shattering, leaving whatever it was totally unaffected.

Shepard pulled a knife, knelt, and stabbed it. To her relief it chipped a large chunk out of the stuff.

"Pinpoint kinetic damage required for positive effect. Recommend switching to AP and phasic ammo."

She nodded and said "I suggest we do as she says."

People agreed and started swapping ammo blocks in their weapons. To Dr. T'Soni she offered "You may wish to switch to your soulfire pistol. It likely has the best penetration in the group aside from Laseiri blades and officer Vakarian's sniper rifle."

"She's right kiddo. Just remember what I taught you about not firing too much too fast okay?"

"Recommend establishment of autonamous biomonitor."

"If you start endangering yourself it'll warn you." She explained. "That also would be a good idea as well."

"Agreed, and you _know_ it's gotta be a real doozy if it's got me and Ms. Lawson agreeing."

The doctor sighed, typed something on her omni, then secured her rifle to her back and drew her sidearm.

That done she said "I suggest everyone hotkeys arc attacks on their omni's. If whatever did this has a nervous system that should stun it."

People thought that was a pretty good idea too and did as she suggested.

She checked a few things with her armor, then said "Hellion, laser paint wireframe local area display with 50 meter transparency, highlighting POI and a path to destination marker."

"Confirmed."

A moment later a bright wireframe appeared, highlighting things in the room that might be interesting as well as every hallway and passage, all color coded, for 50 meters in every direction. There were also potential danger points marked off with the specific dangers noted.

Ash joked "I seriously need to bug Shepard's sister for an upgrade." and everyone chuckled until Shepard, the bond whispering smugness, said "Hellion Sheath Armor superior, current armor inferior."

She blinked. "Better? At what?"

" _Everything._ "

"Why aren't you using that then skipper?"

"All known suits of HSA presumed destroyed during escape from Chicago testing facility. Construction of further suits impossible. Method and materials used in manufacture unknown."

Interesting, and worrying. If someone who could single handedly build armor like she'd been given couldn't even figure out what the original armors were even made of... She shook her head. Not the time or place. "We need to keep going. Hellion, what next?"

"Hellion units barred from command positions."

She blinked, then sighed. "All right, so who's in charge?"

They all looked to each other and Tali asked "This's an SA military operation, right?"

She nodded, then saw where the teen was going with this and said "Ash is officially next in line for command."

The gunny blinked, pointing to herself and incredulously asking "Me?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well... shit."

-^V^- -^V^-

Contrary to the gunny's reservations the woman proved to be surprisingly competent, giving clear no-nonsense directives when needed but otherwise leaving people to do what they did best. Then again the woman had been a squad leader for years and while this group was eclectic to say the least, it _was_ a squad.

Then they ran across the scene of a fight between whatever it was that'd made that web and Geth. Only, the geth had all been stabbed, cut up, chewed up, crushed, hit by acid sprays, and ripped to pieces. There was damage in the walls and ceiling from geth weapons, and there were gashes in the walls from long sharp blades plus more acid damage. As a topper more of that metallic resin had been sprayed in a few places, in one part of the room looking suspiciously as if it were holding up part of the ceiling.

The gunny seemed to pick up on that too and said "Everyone, guard. Tali, scan that shit and see if it's doing support duty."

"Oh it ma'am." A drone hummed as it slowly flew off and started scanning. Meanwhile the laser wireframe blurred, indicating it wasn't sure what to render how. After a couple minutes the Quarian teen said "It is. If not for that this room and the ones near it would be in danger of a cave in."

"So whatever it is, it's insectile and smart?"

"Yeah."

She frowned. Something about that sounded... bad. Something she could almost remember but not quite. It was infuriating and she could see from the looks on people's faces that she wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Tali, Garrus, pop those stealth drones Shepard loaned you, set 'em to wander a bit, see if they can find whatever it is we're up against before it finds us. Oh, and everyone stack in that corner so nothing can get behind us."

The unit did as suggested and the drones launched a couple seconds later with near-silent whirrs. Holo displays from the things appeared in front of them all as a couple semi-transparent screens. Several corridors and hallways later, with an increasing amount of that resin sprayed around, one of the drones caught a flicker of motion, a blurred shape, and then the video feed cut out to a 'Drone destroyed' screen.

Her bad feeling got worse and she said "Message me a copy of the feed. I'll see if I can clear it up."

A moment later her omni beeped with an incoming file. She spent another ten minutes running the mini video through filters until she managed to come up with one semi-clear image. Her bad feeling got even worse and she displayed it for all to see in case anyone could identify it.

Wrex immediately started growling and swapped his AA-12 for his Rach'riit. Shepard simply said "Rachni."

She paled, instantly needing to force down a panic attack. _A RACHNI?!_ That had to have been what the genetic forensics had been about! Benezia must've discovered several bodies, had them analyzed, and made new ones! At the rate they'd supposedly multiplied...

"Rachni were bad news right?" Ash asked carefully.

"Worst news there is." Wrex growled. "Kicked the entire galaxy in the teeth and near wiped out the Krogan after the ash licking Salarians 'uplifted' us to fight their war."

"Fuck that. We gotta _Raid_ these cockroaches soonest."

"I'm not one to run from a fight," Vakarian tossed out, "but I'm not stupid enough to think I can take on a Rachni army bred up by an insane Asari. No offense Dr. T'soni."

"None taken Mr. Vakarian, I happen to agree. We should depart immediately and use artillery to pulverize the entire area. Nailguns, I believe they're called."

"Might be a walking WMD," Aethyta agreed, "but I'm not stupid enough to think taking 'em on anytime soon would be a not-assbrained idea. Last time I ran into 'em damn near killed me and it was under a lot better conditions'n this."

Loathe as she was to agree with Aethyta she stated "The mission was to establish what was going on here and if Benezia was involved. We've done the first and the second is nonviable. Staying longer is suicide and Dr. T'Soni's suggestion about an orbital bombardment is sound."

Hellion interjected "Prior to mission launch designate; Shepard had Normandy load both tubes with Mark-19 Medusae to be kept ready for immediate on-call fires."

Normally she'd have called launching a dozen dark matter enhanced nuclear warheads at a planet overkill, but when the target was the Rachni...

Ash was silent a moment, then said "Okay, here's the plan. Tali, redirect the other drone back the way we came. See if we can use it to sneak back out."

"On it."

"Ms. Lawson, Dr. T'Soni, do you have extranet access? At all?"

She blinked, then checked. Intermittent and low bandwidth, but she apparently did. She said so and the gunny said "Okay then, do a search for any known rachni vulnerabilities."

"Kinetic penetrating attacks, biotics, neurotoxins, immobilization attacks, and if the carapace can be breached near vital organs, fire. Vital organs are located just behind the head with optimal attack path through the mouth. Known weak points, eyes, leg joints, mouth, tentacle shafts. Drone armor levels roughly equivalent to basic marine armor. Warriors, heavy Krogan armor. Elites, a MAKO. Queens, unknown. All known incidences of queens being terminated were via saturation bombardment."

Everyone looked to Shepard/Hellion who stated "Rachni were of note."

She facepalmed again while everyone gaped at the woman. Of note. Talk about the biggest understatement in the history of understatements... GAH!

"Where should we be aiming skipper?"

"Eyes, mouth, leg joints. Armor piercing ammo only. Use plasma flamethrower apps on wounds. Biotics use warps and shockwaves. Block acid sprays with barrier walls, 1 second duration to divert splash."

"You heard the skipper people, mod 'em if you've got 'em. Aethyta, Wrex, you've got the strongest barriers so cover the front. Dr. T'Soni, you've got the next strongest, you cover the rear. Ms. Lawson, barriers where needed. Everyone set sound cancellation to maximum and use the headsets for comms. Tali, keep drone scouts active and roaming so nothing sneaks up on us. If someone goes down you're on deck. Otherwise just focus on keeping yourself in one piece. Everyone, keep in visual sight of each other at all times. Never split from the group, at all, ever."

After everyone nodded the gunny looked to Tali and asked "The backtrace drones?"

"Just getting to the hatch now. Checking... Vi'kek! Emergency containment's been triggered. According to the displays the hatch was explosively welded shut and the tunnel filled with a mix of hydroflouric acid and oxygen-reactive explosives."

"Shit. Ms. Lawson, any other way outta ahere?"

She was already checking. After a moment she couldn't help feeling slightly better. "A shuttle bay... " She scowled. "At the other end of the facility."

"Okay, so here's how we do this. Ms. Lawson, plot us a straight shot path there. We haul ass, stop for nothing, and don't give the damn bugs time to setup an ambush. Once there everyone but Tali and Ms. Lawson digs in and holds off the Rachni while they hack the doors. If there's a shuttle there we hijack it and haul ass. If not we call for evac and hold."

"What about the wounded kid?"

"Nail 'em with painkillers and if they can't move under their own power carry them. If it's Wrex, use a pull field or something."

The gunny looked around and asked "Anyone got any suggestions?"

No one did and the woman said "Okay, plot that course Ms. Law... shit."

The lights in the office flickered, then died leaving them in the harsh, not all there glare of emergency lighting strips built into the ceiling.

"Fucking bugs cut the power." Ash growled.

"What do you mean they cut the power?" The quarian asked fearfully. "How could they cut the power ma'am? I thought they were just insects!"

"Rachni're smart." Wrex countered. "Never make the same mistake twice and every brood the queen makes knows everything the previous one did so you couldn't pull the same trick on 'em twice."

"Well there's no way in hell we're opening the shuttle bay doors without power. Ms. Lawson?"

She checked, plotted a course, and sent it to Shepard/Hellion who's display updated. "Sorted and done."

"Okay, good. Same plan as before people. Move, keep moving, and if it's got more than two legs you kill it deader than the XO's sense of humor. Don't stop for anything, don't leave anyone behind. Now can I get a hell yeah?"

She smiled and joined the others in a quiet but enthusiastic "Hell yeah."

"Kickass. Form up and let's do this."

Once they'd gotten themselves sorted out Ash simply said "Go."

-^V^- -^V^- -^V^-

Heyas!

Sorry for the late posting. I finished the chapter up about 3 weeks ago then got side-tracked by life and forgot it was done. ADHD, it's a massive kick in the ass lemme tell ya and not in the 'Go get shit done' kinda way. Anyways, I booted the chapter up to finish it off, discovered it was good to go, and after a quick editing pass sent it in. Already at work on the next chapter, don't worry.

This's gonna be the last of the 'talky' chapters for a while. From here on in for the next few is gonna be 100% grade-A fuck everything awesome. It won't be until Shepard regains her wits there's much talking aside from that needed to kill bugs.

Lots of bugs.

Starship Troopers levels of bugs.

Also, totally didn't have homages to Aliens in there, the G1 Transformers, or Star Trek.

As for Shepard's comments about Hellion Sheath Armor (HSA, also referred to as Killsuits) being superior, they're superior in only a few ways but those ways are far over anything that should be possible. They're made using tech and materials even Cindy can't reverse engineer and _extremely_ dangerous. To give you an idea how dangerous, if anyone but a Hellion puts it on they'll die of a stress induced heart attack within 5 minutes. If a biotic under matron stage puts it on their nervous system will literally fry like an egg. If anyone, including a Hellion pushes too hard, too far, and takes the wrong kind of hit, the suit will crush them like a beer can. It also, and this is where it lacks, has no integral helmet, just shield coverage (Including atmosphere shielding, though unlike a helmet that does NOT include insulation against the cold). All that said you might see one later in the story...

So, things you can look forward to before the Noveria section is over.

Genocide

Discovering what caused the Rachni War, which was totally not over a woman.

People dying

People not staying dead

More acid than Woodstock

Cyborgs

Enough power armor for an Anime.

Nukes. Lots of Nukes.


End file.
